sustained EB-3 Case: Education

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-P-E-C-2 
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: AUG. 25,2017 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a preschool daycare and learning facility, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a "day 
care group teacher (preschool teacher)." It requests classification of the Beneficiary as a professional 
under the third preference immigrant classification. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(B)(3)(A)(ii). This employment-based 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 initially approved the petition, but subsequently revoked 
the approval with a finding of fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact with regard to 
several evidentiary items, chief among them the documentation pertaining to the Beneficiary's 
educational credentials. The Director also invalidated the associated labor certification based on a 
finding of fraud or misrepresentation of a material fact in the labor certification process. 1 
On appeal the Petitioner submits a brief and supporting documentation. The Petitioner asserts that 
no fraud or willful misrepresentation of material fact has been committed by the Petitioner or the 
Beneficiary, and that the evidence of record refutes the Director's bases for revoking the prior 
approval of the petition. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
The petition was accompanied by a certified ETA Form 9089, Application for Permanent Employment 
Certification (labor certification), with a priority date of August 9, 2007. Section H of the labor 
certification stated that the minimum educational requirement for the offered position of preschool 
teacher was a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, or elementary education, or secondary 
education, and that a foreign educational equivalent would be acceptable. Section 1 of the labor 
certification stated that the Beneficiary's highest level of education with respect to the job 
1 
Any approval by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of an employment-based immigrant petition may 
be revoked by USCJS for "good and sufficient cause" after notice to the petitioner. Section 205 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1155; see also 8 C.F.R. § 205.2. Likewise, USCJS may invalidate a labor certification "upon a determination ... of 
fi'aud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact involving the labor certification application." 20 C.F.R. §656.30(d). 
.
Matter of A-P-E-C-2 
opportunity at issue was a bachelor of science in elementary education in 1997 from 
m Philippines. 
As evidence of the Beneficiary's education the following materials were submitted with the petition: 
• Copies of the Beneficiary's degree and transcript from showing that she 
received a bachelor of science in elementary education on April 3, 1997, after completing a 
four-year, eight-semester academic program in the years 1993-1997; and 
• A "foreign degrees evaluation report" from m 
which stated that the Beneficiary's degree from was 
equivalent to a bachelor of science in elementary education from an accredited college or 
university in the United States. 
The petition was approved in April 2009. In October 2016, however, the Director 
issued a notice of 
intent to revoke (NOIR) the approval on multiple grounds. The Petitioner responded to the NOIR 
with additional evidence. The Director found that this evidence did not overcome the grounds for 
revocation, and issued his decision on March 1 7, 20 1 7. The Director's notice of revocation and 
finding of fraud or material misrepresentation was based on the following: 
1. where the Beneficiary earned her bachelor's degree, did not appear to be 
an accredited educational institution; 
2. The evaluation of the Beneficiary's Philippine degree was invalid because it did not 
contain information about the evaluator's credentials. In addition, its probative value was 
limited because is not a member of "the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) 
recognized National Academy of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) and operates out 
of an apartment complex; and 
3. The proffered position of preschool teacher does not appear to be a bonafide job offer. 
Contrary to the Director's suggestion, is not, and was not at the time the 
Beneficiary studied there, an unaccredited institution. The Petitioner has submitted documentation 
showing that and its bachelor's degree program in elementary education, have 
been recognized by the Republic of the Philippines' Commissi9n on Higher Education (CHED) 
since 1993. This evidence is confirmed by the website, accessible via the Electronic Database for 
Global, Education, listing 259 pages of educational institutions and their degree programs that are 
recognized by CHED, including and its bachelor of elementary education program. 
See http:/ /web. archive. org/web/20070802124415/http://www.pierbooks. orgl 1999dir.pdf (last visited 
July 21, 2017). 
On appeal the Petitioner submits the evaluator's credentials (not included 
with the 
evaluation originally submitted with the petition), but concedes that is not a member of 
NACES and not a reliable educational credentials evaluator. However, the Petitioner submitted 
three subsequent evaluations from other credential evaluation services - two in response to the 
NOIR and one on appeal - which do not have the infirmities of the evaluation. These 
evaluations all assert that the Beneficiary's degree from is equivalent to a U.S. 
2 
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Matter of A-P-E-C2 
bachelor's degree in education. The Director incorrectly concluded that later prepared evaluations 
were unacceptable because they postdated the filing of the labor certification and attempted to make 
material changes to the petition. Evaluations of educational credentials do not need to be prepared 
before the labor certification is filed and they do not make material changes to a petition. 
Finally, the Director did not articulate a rationale for finding thatthe preschool teacher position did 
not appear to be a bonafide job offer. 
For the reasons discussed above, we find that the evidence in the record on appeal is sufficient to 
overcome the Director's revocation of the approval of the petition and invalidation of the labor 
certification.2 Accordingly, we will withdraw the Director's decision, reinstate the labor 
certification, and restore the approval of the petition. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
FURTHER ORDER: The ETA Form 9089, case number is reinstated. 
Cite as Matter of A-P-E-C-2, ID# 602794 (AAO Aug. 25, 2017) 
2 
The Director also discussed the fact that the petition was signed by the Petitioner's executive director and by the 
preparer, an individual who was not an attorney or an accredited representative. Since the Form 1-140 received by 
USC IS was signed by the Petitioner's executive director, it was properly filed. See 8 C.F.R. § I 03.2(a)(2). However, the 
preparer is not recognized as a representative in this proceeding. 
3