remanded EB-3 Case: Golf

MATTER OF G-E-, INC. 
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JUNE 13, 2019 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a junior golf academy, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as its director of business 
development. It requests classification of the Beneficiary as a skilled worker under the third preference 
immigrant category. Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(3)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1153(b)(3)(A)(i). This employment-based "EB-3" immigrant classification allows a U.S. 
employer to sponsor a foreign national for lawful permanent resident status to work in a position that 
requires at least two years of training or experience. 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition on the ground that the Petitioner did not 
establish its ability to pay the proffered wage. On appeal the Petitioner asserts that the denial was 
erroneous because the Director did not properly analyze all of the Petitioner's evidence and the 
totality of its circumstances. 
Upon de nova review, we will withdraw the Director's decision and remand the case for further 
consideration and the issuance of a new decision. 
I. LAW 
Employment-based immigration generally follows a three-step process. First, an employer obtains 
an approved labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A)(i). By approving the labor certification, the 
DOL certifies that there are insufficient U.S. workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available 
for the offered position and that employing a foreign national in the position will not adversely affect 
the wages and working conditions of domestic workers similarly employed. See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i)(I)-(II) of the Act. Second, the employer files an immigrant visa petition with U.S. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). See section 204 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1154. Third, 
if USCIS approves the petition, the foreign national may 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. 
Matter of G-E-, Inc. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Ability to Pay the Proffered Wage 
To be eligible for the classification it requests for the beneficiary, a petitioner must establish that it 
has the ability to pay the proffered wage stated in the labor certification. As provided in the 
regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2): 
The petitioner must demonstrate this ability at the time the priority date is established 
and continuing until the beneficiary obtains lawful permanent residence. Evidence of 
this ability shall be either in the form of copies of annual reports, federal tax returns, 
or audited financial statements. In a case where the prospective United States 
employer employs 100 or more workers, the director may accept a statement from a 
financial officer of the organization which establishes the prospective employer's 
ability to pay the proffered wage. In appropriate cases, additional evidence, such as 
profit/loss statements, bank account records, or personnel records, may be submitted 
by the petitioner or requested by [USCIS]. 
As indicated in the above regulation, the Petitioner must establish its continuing ability to pay the 
proffered wage from the priority date 1 of the petition onward. The priority date in this case is 
June 6, 2018. The labor certification states that the wage offered for the director of business 
development position is $120,000 per year. The Director found that the record did not demonstrate 
the Petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage based on the Petitioner's federal income tax return 
for 2017. However, as the priority date occurred in 2018, that is the first year for which the 
Petitioner must demonstrate its ability to pay. When the record was before the Director, evidence of 
the Petitioner's ability to pay for 2018 was unavailable. Therefore we will remand the matter to the 
Director to request regulatory required evidence, as specified in 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2), of the 
Petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage in 2018. 
The Petitioner may also submit materials in support of the factors discussed in Matter of Sonegawa, 
12 I&N Dec. 612, 614-15 (Reg'l Comm'r 1967). As the Petitioner argues and Sonegawa requires, 
the Director on remand must consider the totality of the circumstances affecting the Petitioner's 
ability to pay the proffered wage. 
B. Requirements of the Labor Certification 
To qualify for classification as a skilled worker a beneficiary must have at least two years of training 
or experience. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(ii)(B). A beneficiary must also meet the specific educational, 
training, experience, or other requirements of the labor certification. Id. All requirements must be 
1 The "priority date" of a petition is the date the underlying labor certification is filed with the DOL. See 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.S(d). 
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Matter of G-E-, Inc. 
met by the petition's priority date. See Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. 158, 159 (Acting 
Reg'l Comm'r 1977). 
Though not addressed in the Director's decision, the evidence of record presents a question as to 
whether the Beneficiary met all the labor certification requirements in this case. Sections H.10, 
H.10-A, and H. l 0-B of the labor certification require that the Beneficiary have 48 months of 
experience in management, sales, or international business development, and section H.14 specifies 
that two or more years of that experience must be related to the international golf market. It is 
unclear whether the Beneficiary's previous jobs as listed in the labor certification and the 
employment verification letters documenting that experience are sufficient to establish the 
Beneficiary's qualifying experience, in particular with respect to the two years of experience in the 
international golf market. 
Therefore, the Director should address this issue as well on remand. If deemed necessary, the 
Director may request additional evidence from the Petitioner. 
III. CONCLUSION 
For the reasons discussed above, we will remand this case to the Director for farther consideration of 
the Petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage from the priority date onward and the Beneficiary's 
fulfillment of the labor certification's experience requirements. 
ORDER: The Director's decision is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for the entry of a new 
decision consistent with the foregoing analysis. 
Cite as Matter ofG-E-, Inc., ID# 4925431 (AAO June 13, 2019) 
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