dismissed H-1B Case: Accounting

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 4677800 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : JAN. 8, 2020 
The Petitioner, an international logistics and forwarding company, seeks to temporarily employ the 
Beneficiary as an "accountant" under the H-1 B nonimmigrant classification for specialty 
occupations. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b). The H-lB program allows a U.S. employer to temporarily employ a qualified 
foreign worker in a position that requires both (a) the theoretical and practical application of a body 
of highly specialized knowledge and (b) the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific 
specialty ( or its equivalent) as a minimum prerequisite for entry into the position. 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did 
not establish that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation . 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a brief and asserts that the Director erred in denying the petition. 
Upon de nova review , we will dismiss the appeal. 1 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1184(i)(l), defines the term "specialty occupation" as an 
occupation that requires: 
(A) theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, 
and 
(B) attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its 
equivalent) as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(ii) largely restates this statutory definition, but adds a non­
exhaustive list of fields of endeavor. In addition, the regulations provide that the proffered position 
must meet one of the following criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation : 
1 We follow the preponderance of the evidence standard as specified in Matter ofChawathe , 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 
(AAO 2010). 
(]) A baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum 
requirement for entry into the particular position; 
(2) The degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among 
similar organizations or, in the alternative, an employer may show that its 
particular position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an 
individual with a degree; 
(3) The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or 
( 4) The nature of the specific duties [is] so specialized and complex that knowledge 
required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a 
baccalaureate or higher degree. 
8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). We construe the term "degree" to mean not just any baccalaureate or 
higher degree, but one in a specific specialty that is directly related to the proposed position. See Royal 
Siam Corp. v. Chertoff, 484 F.3d 139, 147 (1st Cir. 2007) (describing "a degree requirement in a 
specific specialty" as "one that relates directly to the duties and responsibilities of a particular 
position"). 
II. THE PROFFERED POSITION 
The Petitioner seeks to employ the Beneficiary as an accountant. In its initial letter of support, the 
Petitioner listed the duties of the proffered position as follows: 
• Prepare and analyze accounting records, financial statements and other financial 
reports of [the Petitioner] to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to 
reporting and procedural standards of both Federal and State Laws and Regulations 
(30%). 
• Report to [the Petitioner's] management regarding healthfulness of the company's 
finance[.] Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and 
accounting systems of PAG by using current computer technology (15%). 
• Compute taxes and prepare tax returns (both Federal and State), ensuring 
compliance with tax regulations (10%). 
• Advise [the Petitioner's] management regarding compensation, employee benefits. 
Develop, maintain, and analyze budgets ( 5%). 
• Prepare periodic reports to compare budget costs to actual costs (50%). 
• Analyze [the Petitioner's] business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial 
commitments, and obligations, to project future revenues and expenses. Establish 
tables of accounts, and assign entries to proper accounts. Develop, maintain, and 
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analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual 
costs. (25%). 
Then, in response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner provided an additional 
description of the job duties for the proffered position as follows: 
1. Oversee processes and team performance; facilitate accurate and timely invoicing 
and resolution of issues by working with designated company personnel and 
internal and external customers. Oversee billing associated with Logistics' 
requirements. Fostering effective communication and execution of invoicing for 
designated customers. Partner with designated department personnel to develop 
and implement solutions to overcome billing accuracy and/or timeliness issues. 
2. Design and develop billing processes; identify and implement process and system 
improvements/enhancements in billing to drive system automation, increase auto­
rating/swooshing, electronic invoicing (Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)/email) 
and expedited invoicing. Identify possible system enhancements for new and 
existing customers. 
3. Develop and communicate key indicators of success (metrics) for designated 
department personnel. Develop and facilitate necessary and appropriate training 
for designated department personnel. 
4. Manage billing queues by biller to ensure orders are billed timely, resources are 
appropriately aligned and performance issues are identified. Perform timely and 
correct billing of large volume accounts with complex billing requirements. 
Review and reprocess invoices (void and re-bill), as necessary, to ensure 
discrepancies are resolved in a timely manner as directed by AIR procedures; 
correct and re-transmit any rejected EDI invoices as identified/communicated by 
designated department personnel. Generate sequence bills if applicable for 
customer accessorial charges. Update and keep leadership informed of billing 
queue status. 
5. Ensure accurate system set up to match customer requirements; review and update 
shipper billing profiles for event capturing flags (billable or not) based on customer 
contracts. Enter line-haul rates for all noted line-haul addendums or for specific 
"print-only" lanes as dictated by contract requirements. 
6. Conduct customer calls as needed to develop relationships, resolve billing issues 
and to improve customers' payment trends. 
7. Identify existing and potential problems, provide solutions for streamlining 
processing and lead implementations for process improvement. 
8. Maintain a positive work atmosphere by acting and communicating in a manner 
which facilitates the success of business operations in order to meet company 
demands and expectations. 
The Accountant's role will have responsibility to ensure timely and accurate movement 
of freight and information, while providing exceptional customer service. The 
International Logistics Administrator will help prepare, review and approve 
international shipments company-wide while maintaining compliance with all U.S. 
export regulations (including recordkeeping). This role will have responsibility to 
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understand U.S. trade regulations and their impact on international traffic. The person 
on this position will be responsible for monitoring the equipment, products, and 
documentation both arriving and leaving the company's warehouse. He/She may be 
required to receive material, process pack slips and coordinate sending this information 
to the main office. This position requires the accountant to complete all of these tasks 
quickly enough to meet a company's on time delivery requirements. 
On appeal, the Petitioner stated that the minimum entry requirement for the proffered position is a 
bachelor's degree in accounting or finance. 
III. ANALYSIS 
For the reasons set out below, we have determined that the proffered position does not qualify as a 
specialty occupation. Specifically, the record does not: (1) describe the proffered position in sufficient 
detail; and (2) establish that the job duties require an educational background, or its equivalent, 
commensurate with a specialty occupation. 2 In particular, we find that the Petitioner has not 
established the substantive nature of the position, which precludes a determination that the proffered 
position qualifies as a specialty occupation under at least one of the four regulatory specialty­
occupation criteria enumerated at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(l)-(4). 
We have considered the Petitioner's submitted business information; however, a crucial aspect in 
establishing the substantive nature of the proffered position is whether the Petitioner has sufficiently 
described the duties of the proffered position such that we may discern the nature of the position and 
whether the position actually requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of a highly 
specialized knowledge attained through at least a baccalaureate degree in a specific discipline. The 
Petitioner has not. 
On appeal, the Petitioner states that the Director's decision solely focused on the job duties provided in 
response to the RFE and ignored those duties listed in its initial letter of support. The Petitioner contends 
that the Director's disregard for the initial list of job duties was unfair and requests consideration of those 
duties on appeal. 
First, we find that the Petitioner's first list of job duties, provided in its initial letter of support, is broad 
and mostly paraphrases duties outlined in the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational 
Information Network (O*NET) Summary Report's list of "tasks" for "Accountants" - SOC code 13-
2011.01.3 Providing job duties for a proffered position from O*NET is generally not sufficient for 
establishing H-lB eligibility. That is, while this type of description may be appropriate when defining 
the range of duties that may be performed within an occupational category, it cannot be relied upon by 
the Petitioner when discussing the duties attached to specific employment for H-lB approval as this type 
of generic description does not adequately convey the substantive work that the Beneficiary will perform 
on a day-to-day basis and is not sufficient to satisfy the second prong of this criterion. In establishing a 
position as qualifying as a specialty occupation, a petitioner must describe the specific duties and 
2 The Petitioner submitted documentation in support of the H-1 B petition, including evidence regarding the proffered 
position and its business operations. While we may not discuss every document submitted, we have reviewed and 
considered each one. 
3 See O*NET OnLine. 
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responsibilities to be performed by a beneficiary in the context of its business operations, demonstrate 
that a legitimate need for an employee exists, and substantiate that it has H-lB caliber work for the 
beneficiary for the period of employment requested in the petition. 
Further, the additional list of duties submitted in response to the RFE, appears to copy, verbatim, duties 
found in a third-party's job vacancy announcement for a "billing leader" position and a "logistics accounts 
receivable leader" position. 4 Thus, while these duties may be common within the industry, the Petitioner 
has not conveyed the substantive nature of the proffered position and its constituent duties. Nor is there 
a detailed explanation regarding the demands, level of responsibilities, complexity, or requirements 
necessary for the performance of these duties. The Petitioner must resolve this ambiguity with 
independent, objective evidence pointing to where the truth lies. Matter of Ho, 19 I&N Dec. 582, 591-
92 (BIA 1988). Unresolved material inconsistencies may lead us to reevaluate the reliability and 
sufficiency of other evidence submitted in support of the requested immigration benefit. Id. 
Moreover, even if the substantive nature of the proffered position were established, the Petitioner has 
not establish that the job duties require an educational background, or its equivalent, commensurate 
with a specialty occupation. While the Petitioner stated, on appeal, that the proffered position requires 
a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance for entry, that claim was not consistent throughout the 
record. At the time of filing, the Petitioner did not indicate a minimum education requirement for 
entry into the proffered position. Then, in response to the RFE, the Petitioner stated that "[ d]ue to the 
complex of the job duties, an account[ant] therefore must have the education on the minimum 
Bachelor's degree level to qualify [sic]," without srecifying a field of study for the degree. The 
Petitioner also submitted a letter from I . CFO of I I as 
evidence that a bachelor's degree is required for entry into the proffered position, which also did not 
specify a field of study for the bachelor's degree. In her letter,I !describes the credentials that 
she asserts qualify her to opine upon the nature of the proffered position, briefly describes the 
accountant position and concludes that "a bachelor's degree is usually the minimum requirement for 
the position of an Accountant at an int'l; logistics company such as [the Petitioner], because only the 
minimum education at bachelor degree level is able to give a person afore-stated ability and skills." 
Whilel lstates that a bachelor's degree is routinely required for this position, she does not 
identify a specific specialty for the bachelor's degree requirement. The claim that a bachelor's degree 
is a sufficient minimum requirement for entry into the proffered position is inadequate to establish that 
the proposed position qualifies as a specialty occupation. A petitioner must demonstrate that the 
proffered position requires a precise and specific course of study that relates directly and closely to 
the position in question. There must be a close correlation between the required specialized studies 
and the position; thus, the mere requirement of a degree, without further specification, does not 
establish the position as a specialty occupation. Cf Matter of Michael Hertz Assocs., 19 I&N Dec. 
558, 560 (Comm'r 1988) ("The mere requirement of a college degree for the sake of general education, 
or to obtain what an employer perceives to be a higher caliber employee, also does not establish 
eligibility."). Thus, while a general-purpose bachelor's degree may be a legitimate prerequisite for a 
particular position, requiring such a degree, without more, will not justify a conclusion that a particular 
position qualifies for classification as a specialty occupation. Royal Siam Corp., 484 F.3d at 147. As 
4 See https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/billing-leader-at-swift-transportation-l l 5 l 003410. 
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such,I f s letter is not sufficient to demonstrate that the proffered position qualifies as a 
specialty occupation. 
Here, the Petitioner's general description of the duties raises questions regarding the Beneficiary's actual 
duties for the Petitioner and the education necessary to perform those duties. To qualify for an H-1B visa, 
the Petitioner must establish that its proffered position is an H-1B caliber position. The Petitioner here 
has not established the substantive nature of the position, thus, the Petitioner has not shown that the 
proffered position satisfies any criterion at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), because it is the substantive 
nature of that work that determines: (1) the normal minimum educational requirement for the particular 
position, which is the focus of criterion 1; (2) industry positions which are parallel to the proffered 
position and thus appropriate for review for a common degree requirement, under the first alternate prong 
of criterion 2; (3) the level of complexity or uniqueness of the proffered position, which is the focus of 
the second alternate prong of criterion 2; ( 4) the factual justification for a petitioner normally requiring a 
degree or its equivalent, when that is an issue under criterion 3; and (5) the degree of specialization and 
complexity of the specific duties, which is the focus of criterion 4. As the Petitioner has not established 
that it satisfies any of the criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)( 4)(iii)(A), it has not established that the proffered 
position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
IV. CONCLUSION 
The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reason. In visa petition proceedings, it is the 
Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 
8 U.S.C. § 1361. The Petitioner has not met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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