dismissed EB-3 Case: Property Management

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 7880559 
Appeal of Nebraska Service Center Decision 
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Professional 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : MAR. 13, 2020 
The Petitioner seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a property manager (director of operations) under 
the third-preference, immigrant classification as a member of the professions. See Immigration and 
Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii), 8 U.S.C. § l 153(b)(3)(A)(ii). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition. The Director concluded that the 
Petitioner did not demonstrate the Beneficiary's possession of the minimum education required for 
the offered position and the requested visa classification . 
The Petitioner bears the burden of establishing eligibility for the requested benefit. See section 291 
of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de nova review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRATION 
Immigration as a professional generally follows a three-step process. To permanently fill a position 
in the United States with a foreign worker, a prospective employer must first obtain DOL 
certification. See section 212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § l 182(a)(5)(A)(i). DOL approval 
signifies that insufficient U.S. workers are able, willing, qualified, and available for an offered position. 
Id. Labor certification also indicates that employment of a foreign national will not harm wages and 
working conditions of U.S. workers with similar jobs. Id. 
If DOL approves a position, an employer must next submit the certified labor application with an 
immigrant visa petition to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See section 204 of 
the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1154. Among other things, USCIS detennines whether a beneficiary meets the 
requirements of a DOL-certified position and a requested visa classification . If USCIS grants a 
petition, a foreign national may finally apply for an immigrant visa abroad or, if eligible, adjustment 
of status in the United States. See section 245 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1255. 
II. THE REQUIRED EDUCATION 
A professional must hold a U.S . bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree. 8 C.F .R. 
§ 204.5(1)(2) (defining the term "professional"). A petitioner must also demonstrate a beneficiary's 
possession of all DOL-certified job requirements of an offered position by a petition's priority date. 1 
Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. 158, 160 (Acting Reg'l Comm'r 1977). In evaluating a 
beneficiary's qualifications, USCIS must examine the job-offer portion of an accompanying labor 
certification to determine a position's minimum job requirements. USCIS may neither ignore a 
certification term, nor impose additional requirements. See, e.g., Madany v. Smith, 696 F.2d 1008, 
1015 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (holding that "DOL bears the authority for setting the content of the labor 
certification") ( emphasis in original). 
Here, the accompanying labor certification states the mm1mum educational requirements of the 
offered position of property manager as a U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree in 
"Liberal Arts." On the labor certification, the Beneficiary attested that, by the petition's priority 
date, an Irish university awarded him a bachelor's degree in humanities. As proof of the 
Beneficiary's educational qualifications, the Petitioner submitted copies of his bachelor of arts 
(honours) diploma from the university and his examination results. The Petitioner also submitted an 
independent, professional evaluation of the Beneficiary's foreign educational credentials, concluding 
that his Irish bachelor's degree equates to a U.S. bachelor's degree in humanities. 
Noting that the Beneficiary's exam results indicated his completion of a three-year degree, the 
Director concluded that the Petitioner did not demonstrate the Beneficiary's possession of a foreign 
equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. U.S. baccalaureate degrees usually require four years of 
study. Matter of Shah, 17 I&N Dec. 244, 245 (Reg'l Comm'r 1977). The Director also consulted 
the Electronic Database for Global Education (EDGE), an online, peer-reviewed resource that 
federal courts have found to be a reliable source of foreign educational equivalencies. 2 EDGE 
indicates that, while a four-year bachelor (honours) degree from Ireland compares to a U.S. 
bachelor's degree, a three-year, Irish bachelor (honours) degree equates to only three years of U.S. 
university or college study. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that, as of the petition's priority date in May 2018, the Beneficiary 
met the minimum educational requirement of the offered position and the requested visa 
classification. The Petitioner states that, at that time, EDGE equated the Beneficiary's three-year 
Irish degree to a U.S. bachelor's degree. The Petitioner provided copies of an e-mail exchange 
between its evaluator and an EDGE representative. The evaluator's message states: 
As of at least March 2018 your organization viewed all Irish Bachelor (Honours) 
credentials as equivalent to a bachelor's degree in the United States. I first noticed in 
December 2018 that you added the three-year Irish Bachelor (Honours) to the entry 
1 This petition's priority date is May 1 7, 2018, the date DOL accepted the accompanying labor certification application 
for processing. See 8 C.F.R. ~ 204.5( d) ( explaining how to determine a petition's priority date). 
2 EDGE was created by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), "a 
non-profit, voluntary, professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals who represent 
approximately 2,600 institutions in more than 40 countries." AACRAO, "Who We Are," https://www.aacrao.org/who­
we-are (last visited Mar. 10, 2020); see also Viraj, LLC v. U.S. At(v Gen., 578 Fed. Appx. 907, 910 (11th Cir. 2014) 
( describing EDGE as "a respected source of information"). 
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and advised the equivalent of three years of university study. Would it be possible to 
let me know when you added the three-year entry to the database? 
The EDGE representative responded: "I believe that update was made in October [2018]." 
The Petitioner argues that, because EDGE considered the Beneficiary's degree the equivalent of a 
U.S. bachelor's degree as of the petition's priority date, "the change in EDGE's criteria is irrelevant 
to the adjudication of this petition." The Petitioner cites Wing's Tea House and a prior case, both 
holding that beneficiaries must meet DOL-certifiedjob requirements by petitions' priority dates. 
Contrary to the Petitioner's argument, however, a petitioner must establish eligibility not only as of a 
petition's priority date, but also at the time of its filing and throughout its adjudication. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 103.2(b)(l). 
Also, a favorable EDGE opinion is not required to establish the equivalency of a foreign credential 
to a U.S. degree. EDGE is a respected tool that USCIS may use when facing inconsistent evidence 
or questions regarding foreign educational credentials. But EDGE represents only one expert 
op1mon. Despite an unfavorable EDGE report, a petitioner may demonstrate the required 
equivalency of a foreign credential by submitting expert opinions from other sources or by rebutting 
EDGE's opinion. We must weigh expert testimony under a variety of factors, including: the extent 
of an expert's qualifications; and the testimony's relevance, reliability, and probative value regarding 
specific facts at issue. See Matter of D-R-, 25 I&N Dec. 445, 460 n.13 (BIA 2011) (discussing 
expert testimony in the context ofremoval proceedings). 
Following EDGE's change of opinion, the Petitioner does not submit a revised evaluation or 
opinions from other sources. Rather, it relies on the original evaluation it submitted with the petition 
and EDGE's prior concurrence with it. The evaluation states that it does not rely solely on EDGE. 
A footnote in the evaluation states: 'The FIS equivalency was not reached by simply referencing one 
proprietary online database [EDGE]." But the evaluation does not establish the equivalency of the 
Beneficiary's three-year Irish bachelor's (honours) degree in humanities to a U.S. baccalaureate 
degree in humanities. The evaluation does not explain how the Beneficiary's three years of 
university study in Ireland equates to the usual four years of baccalaureate study in the United States. 
The evaluation does not, for example, compare the Beneficiary's curriculum and credits to those of 
U.S. baccalaureate programs in humanities. In fact, the evaluation does not even mention the length 
of the Beneficiary's baccalaureate program. As such, the Petitioner's original evaluation appears 
deficient. 
For the foregoing reasons, the Petitioner has not demonstrated the Beneficiary's possession of a U.S. 
bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent degree by the petition's priority date. The record therefore 
does not establish the Beneficiary's qualifying education for the offered position or the requested 
visa classification. 
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III. ABILITY TO PAY THE PROFFERED WAGE 
Although unaddressed by the Director, the record also does not establish the Petitioner's ability to 
pay the proffered wage of the offered position. A petitioner must demonstrate its continuing ability 
to pay a proffered wage, from a petition's priority date until a beneficiary obtains lawful permanent 
residence. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2). If a petitioner employs less than 100 people, as in this case, 
evidence of ability to pay must include copies of annual reports, federal tax returns, or audited 
financial statements. Id. 
Here, the labor certification states the proffered wage of the offered position of property manager as 
$56,000 a year. As previously noted, the petition's priority date is May 17, 2018. 
The Petitioner submitted a copy of its federal income tax return for 2017. Contrary to 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5(g)(2), however, the record lacks required evidence of the Petitioner's ability to pay the 
proffered wage in 2018, the year of the petition's priority date, or thereafter. The record therefore 
does not establish the Petitioner's continuing ability to pay from the petition's priority date onward. 
In any future filings in this matter, the Petitioner must submit copies of annual reports, federal tax 
returns, or audited financial statements for 2018 and, if available, 2019. The Petitioner may also 
submit additional evidence of its ability to pay, including proof of wage payments to the Beneficiary 
during the relevant period and materials supporting the factors stated in Matter of Sonegawa, 12 I&N 
Dec. 612, 614-15 (Reg'l Comm'r 1967). 
IV. CONCLUSION 
The record on appeal does not establish the Beneficiary's possession of the minimum education 
required for the offered position or the requested visa classification. We will therefore affirm the 
petition's denial. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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