remanded EB-3 Case: Securities

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 06821383 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for a Professional 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: DEC. 23, 2019 
The Petitioner , a securities business, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a Mexican securities analyst. 
It requests professional classification for the Beneficiary under the third preference immigrant category . 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii) , 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b )(3)(A)(ii). This 
employment-based "EB-3" immigrant classification allows a U.S. employer to sponsor a professional 
with a baccalaureate degree for lawful permanent resident status . 
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 Director did not properly consider the documentation provided 
and claims that the evidence in the record establishes its ability to pay the proffered wage. 
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 , ifUSCIS 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. 
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]. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Petitioner's Ability to Pay the Proffered Wage 
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 May 
15, 2018, and the proffered wage for the job of Mexican securities analyst is $110,000 per year. The 
Director found that the record did not demonstrate the Petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage in 
201 7 or 2018 based on tax return documents for 201 7 and pay statements to the Beneficiary in 2018 
which covered only part of the year. As the priority date occurred in 2018, however, that is the first 
year for which the Petitioner must demonstrate its ability to pay the proffered wage. When the record 
was before the Director regulatory required evidence of the Petitioner's ability to pay in 2018, as 
specified in 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2), was not yet available. Therefore we will remand this matter to the 
Director to request regulatory required evidence of the Petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage 
in 2018 for the entity listed on the Form ETA 9089 and the Form I-140, FEIN (Federal Employer 
Identification Number) I 
The Petitioner may also submit additional materials in support of the factors discussed in Matter of 
Sonegawa, 12 I&N Dec. 612, 614-15 (Reg'l Comm'r 1967), which permits USCIS to consider the 
totality of the circumstances affecting a petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage. 
B. Labor Certification Requirements 
A beneficiary must meet all of the education, training, experience, and other requirements of the labor 
certification as of the petition's priority date. See Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N Dec. 158, 159 
(Acting Reg'l Comm'r 1977). In reviewing the labor certification requirements in this case, we note 
that in section H, box 14, the labor certification specifies that "Series 4 and 7 licenses" are required. 
While the Petitioner asserts that the Beneficiary has these licenses, there is no documentation thereof 
in the record. Accordingly, the Director may wish to obtain such evidence on remand. 
1The "priority date" of a petition is the date the underlying labor certification is filed with the DOL. See 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5( d). The Petitioner must establish that all eligibility requirements for the petition have been satisfied as of the 
priority date. 
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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 license requirements in the labor certification. 
ORDER: The Director's decision is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for the entry of a new 
decision consistent with the foregoing analysis. 
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