sustained EB-3 Case: Education

MATTER OF C-B-A-E-C-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JULY 25,2017 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, an early childhood center, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a preschool teacher. It 
requests classification of the Beneficiary as a professional under the third preference immigrant 
classification. The employment-based immigrant classification for a professional allows a U.S. 
employer to sponsor a foreign national with a baccalaureate degree for lawful permanent resident 
status. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii), 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1153(b)(3)(A)(ii). 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish that the job offer portion of the labor certification requires the minimum of a bachelor's 
degree for professional classification. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that the offered position requires a 
bachelor's degree for professional classification. Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
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). 1 See section 
212(a)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(5)(A)(i). By approving the labor certification, 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. Section 212(a)(5)(A)(i)(l)-(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 applies 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. 
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The date the labor certification is filed, in cases such as this one, is called the "priority date." 
Matter ofC-B-A-E-C-, Inc. 
II. ANALYSIS 
For professional classification, "the job offer portion of an individual labor certification ... must 
demonstrate that the job requires the minimum of a baccalaureate degree." 8 C.P.R. § 204.5(1)(3)(i) 
(emphasis added). 
Therefore, if the labor certification allows for less than the minimum of a baccalaureate degree, the 
position will not qualify for professional classification. 
The required education, training, experience, and skills for the proffered position are set forth at 
Section H of the labor certification. In this case, Section H states that the offered position has the 
following minimum requirements: 
H.4. 
H.4-A. 
H.6. 
H.8. 
H.9. 
H.IO. 
H.14. 
Education: Other. 
If Other is indicated in question 4, specify the education required: 
"Foreign equivalent of a bachelor's degree." 
Experience in the job offered: None. 
Is there an alternate combination of education and experience that is 
acceptable? No. 
Is a foreign educational equivalent acceptable? Yes. 
Is experience in an alternate occupation acceptable? No. 
Specific skills or other requirements: None. 
The Director held that position offered allows for less than a bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent 
because the Petitioner "would accept a combination of education and experience evaluated to be 
equivalent to a bachelor's degree." 
On appeal, the Petitioner states that the recruitment documentation in the record demonstrates that 
the position offered requires the minimum of a bachelor's degree or the foreign equivalent. 
In order to determine what a job opportunity requires, we must examine "the language of the labor 
certification job requirements." See, e.g., Madany v. Smith, 696 F.2d 1008, 1015 (D.C. Cir. 1983). 
USCIS must examine the certified job offer exactly as it is completed by the prospective employer. 
See Rosedale Linden Park Company v. Smith, 595 F. Supp. 829, 833 (D.D.C. 1984). Our 
interpretation of the job's requirements must involve reading and applying the plain language of the 
alien employment certification application form. !d. at 834. 
We note that the Petitioner indicated in Section H.8 that there is not an alternate combination of 
education and experience that is acceptable. We find that this does not support the conclusion 
reached by the Director. In addition, the advertisements in the record state that the position offered 
requires a bachelor's degree. Here, we find that the labor certification and the advertisements for the 
position offered demonstrate that the position offered requires at a minimum a U.S. bachelor's 
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Matter ofC-B-A-E-C-, Inc. 
degree or the foreign equivalent for professional classification under section 203(b)(3)(A)(ii) ofthe 
Act. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has established that the job offered meets the minimum educational requirements for 
professional classification. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter ofC-B-A-E-C-, Inc., ID# 591886 (AAO July 25, 2017) 
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