dismissed H-1B Case: Computer Science

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF I-S-, LLC 
APPEAL OF VERMONT SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: FEB. 28,2017 
PETITION: FORM I-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a network infrastructure design company, seeks to temporarily employ the 
Beneficiary as a "computer network architect" under the H-1 B nonimmigrant classification for 
specialty occupations. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(l5)(H)(i)(b), 
8 U.S.C. § 110l(a)(l5)(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, Vermont Service Center, denied the petition concluding that: (1) the evidence does not 
establish the availability of specialty occupation work for the Beneficiary at the time the petition was 
filed; and (2) the proffered position is not a specialty occupation. 
The matter is now before us on appeal. In its appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and 
asserts that the Director erred in denying the petition. 
Upon de novo review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
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: 
(b)(6)
Matter of 1-S-, LLC 
(I) 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.P.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). We have consistently interpreted the term "degree" in the criteria at 
8 C.P.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) 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. Cherto.f{, 
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"); Defensor v. Meissner, 
201 F.3d 384, 387 (5th Cir. 2000). 
II. PROFFERED POSITION 
In the H-1 B petition, the Petitioner stated that the Beneficiary will serve as a "computer network 
architect." In addition, the Petitioner stated that the Beneficiary will work at its offices located at 
in Florida.' In response to the Director's request for 
evidence (RFE), the Petitioner described the job duties of the proffered position as follows:2 
1 A review of public records reveals that the Petitioner ' s address is zoned as a residential single-family home. 
2 In response to the RFE, the Petitioner clarifies that the Beneficiary will be working remotely from a virtual office in 
Florida. The Petitioner initially stated that the Beneficiary will be physically located at its office at 
Florida. In the RFE, the Director noted that this is a residential address and 
asked the Petitioner for evidence that this is a fully functioning place of employment that can accommodate current . and 
future employees. In response, the Petitioner submitted a 3-month vir.tual office contract, dated July 20, 2016, for a 
location at Florida . The Petitioner stated that the Beneficiary will be physically 
located at the virtual office location to perform the duties of the proffered position. On appeal, the Petitioner specifically 
stated that "a virtual office does permit the individuals or companies with which it engages to use dedicated workspaces 
as often as necessary for a set monthly fee." However, upon review we find that the contract simply states "included 
extension /voice mail box," and does not provide any information about a physical office included in the Petitioner 's 
contract or available for an added cost on an as needed basis. On appeal , the Petitioner did not submit any 
, documentation from the virtual office company to show that it has or may rent physical space at the virtual office 
location for the Beneficiary to use for the duration of the employment period. The Petitioner must support its assertions 
with relevant, probative , and credible evidence . See Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 20 I 0). 
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Matter of 1-S-, LLC 
• Assist and enable small and large business customers to migrate all or part of 
their network/computer infrastructure to a US and/or global could [sic] 
provider's network infrastructure as subscribers and/or tenants; 
• Communicate with customers, sales staff, and marketing staff to determine 
customer needs; 
• Communicate with system users to ensure accounts are set up properly and 
diagnose and solve operational problems; 
• Coordinate network operations, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades; 
• Coordinate network and design activities with designers of associated networks; 
• Design, build, and operate equipment configuration prototypes, including 
network hardware, software, servers, and server operation systems; 
• Design, organize, and deliver product awareness, skills transfer, and product 
education sessions for staff and suppliers; 
• Determine specific network hardware and software requirements, such as 
platforms, interfaces, bandwidths, and routine schemas; 
• Design, develop, and implement solutions for network problems; and 
• Travel to customer sites as required. 
The Petitioner also stated that the minimum entry requirement for the proffered position 1s a 
bachelor's degree in computer science, or a related field. 
III. ANALYSIS 
For the reasons set out below, we have determined that the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the 
proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. Specifically, the record (1) does not describe 
the actual proffered position with sufficient detail; and (2) does not establish that the job duties 
require an educational background, or its equivalent, commensurate with a specialty occupation. 3 
The record of proceedings lacks sufficient information regarding the proffered position. For H-1 B 
approval, the Petitioner must demonstrate a legitimate need for an employee exists and to 
substantiate that it has H-lB caliber work for the Beneficiary for the period of employment 
requested in the petition. It is incumbent upon the Petitioner to demonstrate it has sufficient work to 
require the services of a person with at least a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty, or its 
equivalent, to perform duties at a level that requires the theoretical and practical application of at 
least a bachelor's degree level of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a specific specialty for 
the period specified in the petition. 
First, on the Form l-129, the Petitioner requested that the Beneficiary be granted H-1 B classification 
from October 1, 2016, to September 17, 2019. In response to the Director's RFE, the Petitioner 
3 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 
(b)(6)
Matter of 1-S-. LLC 
indicated that the Beneficiary will be employed in-house providing services on projects for 
and at the Petitioner's office location.
4 
The Petitioner provided a copy of a Subcontractor Agreement with 
for a period of 36 months commencing on February 19, 2016. In other words, the 
Subcontractor Agreement is in effect from February 19, 2016, to February 19, 2019, which is 7 
months short of the requested time period. 
We note that although the Subcontractor Agreement states that "shall 
have the option in its sole discretion" to extend the agreement for an additional 12 month period, we 
cannot conclude that the proffered position will continue to exist after February 19, 2019. Further, 
the assumption that the Beneficiary would be placed on a different contract or will provide services 
on another contract should the Petitioner's contract with not be 
renewed, is insufficient to establish that the proffered position will continue to exist after 
February 19,2019. Here, we cannot conclude 'that the proffered position will translate to another 
contract for the Petitioner or that the job duties listed for the instant proffered position will apply to 
any other position the Petitioner may have available at the time. Rather than establish definitive , 
non-speculative employment for the Beneficiary for the entire period requested, the Petitioner 
simply asserts that it will extend its contract with for the proffered 
position or place the Beneficiary on a different contract that may be available. 
Second, the Petitioner did not submit a job description to adequately convey the substantive work to 
be performed by the Beneficiary. The Petitioner's job description is virtually identical to the list of 
duties associated with a computer network architect in the the Occupational Information Network 
(O*NET) OnLine Summary Report for computer network architects. 5 Providing job duties for a 
proffered position from O*NET or other Internet source 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 a 
Petitioner when discussing the duties attached to specific employment for H-lB approval as this type 
of generic description fails to adequately convey the substantive work that the Beneficiary will 
perform on a day-to-day basis. 
As the Petitioner stated that the Beneficiary would provide services to 
clients, it also provided the Statement of Work from listing 
the scope of work, period of performance, place of performance , and work requirements. The 
Statement of Work describes the scope of work as follows: 
The scope of work for the Network Engineering Services provided by the contractor 
assigned resource includes all planning , execution, implementation (inclusive of 
4 
Notably , the Petitioner did not provide an agreement between itself and 
5 For additional information , see O*NET OnLine , avai table at http ://www .oneton line.org/1 ink/summary/15-1143 .00 (last 
visited Feb. 9, 20 17). 
4 
(b)(6)
Matter of 1-S-, LLC 
client's established change management submission, scheduling, Change Board 
meetings presentations, technical and business approvals processes) and design 
documentation for all projects for assigned clients by the Program Manager 
for all Commercial Clients. The assigned contractor resource will be 
responsible for the design of any new Network based on the clients' work requests 
to be provided by the client's Project managers or clients' technical manager. 
Specific deliverables and milestones will be listed in the Word Requirements and 
Schedules and Milestones sections of this SOW. Contractor to report exclusively to 
[the Petitioner]. 
Upon review, we find that this statement is general and vague and does not provide any additional 
insight as to the substantive duties of the proffered position. This statement does not provide any 
details or information to convey the substantive nature of the work that the Beneficiary would 
actually perform, or any particular body of highly specialized knowledge that would have to be 
theoretically and practically applied to perform it. 
Here, the record of proceedings lacks documentation regarding the Petitioner's business activities 
and the actual work that the Beneficiary will perform to sufficiently substantiate the claim that the 
Petitioner has H-lB caliber work for the Beneficiary for the period of employment requested in the 
petition. The Petitioner submitted several invoices to clients for services provided by the Petitioner. 
However, these invoices do not provide any information detailing the work being performed by the 
Petitioner for the clients or the products being provided by the Petitioner to the clients. It remains 
unknown whether the service orders are for proprietary products provided by the Petitioner to the 
clients, or for IT services being provided by the Petitioner to the clients. 
As observed above, we must review the actual duties the Beneficiary will be expected to perform to 
ascertain whether those duties require at least a baccalaureate degree in a specific specialty, or its 
equivalent, as required for classification as a specialty occupation. To accomplish that task in this 
matter, we must analyze the actual duties in conjunction with the specific project(s) to which the 
Beneficiary will be assigned. To allow otherwise, results in generic descriptions of duties that, while 
they may appear (in some instances) to comprise the duties of a specialty occupation, are not related 
to any actual services the Beneficiary is expected to provide. The Petitioner has not provided 
sufficient details regarding the nature and scope of the Beneficiary's employment or any substantive 
evidence regarding the actual work that the Beneficiary would perform. Without a meaningful job 
description, the record lacks evidence sufficiently concrete and informative to demonstrate that the 
proffered position requires a specialty occupation's level of knowledge in a specific specialty. The 
tasks as described do not communicate (1) the actual work that the Beneficiary would perform, (2) 
the complexity, uniqueness, and/or specialization of the tasks, and/or (3) the correlation between that 
work and a need for a particular level education of highly specialized knowledge in a specific 
specialty. 
We find that the Petitioner has not established that the petition was filed for non-speculative work 
for the Beneficiary, for the entire period requested, that existed as of the time of the petition's filing. 
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Matter of 1-S-, LLC 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations affirmatively require a petitioner to establish 
eligibility for the benefit it is seeking at the time the petition is filed. See 8 C.F .R. 103 .2(b )( 1 ). A 
visa petition may not be approved based on speculation of future eligibility or after the Petitioner or 
Beneficiary becomes eligible under a new set of facts. See Matter of Michelin Tire Corp., 17 I&N 
Dec. 248 (Reg'l Comm'r 1978).6 
Furthermore, without detailed work orders, statement of works, or similar documentation 'describing 
the specific duties the Petitioner requires the Beneficiary to perform, as those duties relate to specific 
projects, we are unable to discern the nature of the position and whether the position indeed requires 
the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge attained through a 
baccalaureate program. Without a meaningful job description within the context of non-speculative 
employment, the Petitioner may not establish any of the alternate criteria at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 214.2(h)( 4)(iii)(A). 
Without additional information and documentation establishing what projects have been secured for 
the Beneficiary, and accordingly, the specific duties the Beneficiary would perform on these 
projects, we are unable to discern the. substantive nature of the position and whether the position 
indeed qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
Consequently, we are precluded from finding 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 
6 The agency made clear long ago that speculative employment is not permitted in the H-1 B program. For example, a 
1998 proposed rule documented this position as follows: 
Historically, the Service has not granted H-1 B classification on the basis of speculative, or 
undetermined, prospective employment The H-1 B classification is not intended as a vehicle for an 
alien to engage in a job search within the United States, or for employers to bring in temporary foreign 
workers to meet possible workforce needs arising from potential business expansions or the 
expectation of potential new customers or contracts. To determine whether an alien is properly 
classifiable as an H-1 B nonimmigrant under the statute, the Service must first examine the duties of the 
position to be occupied to ascertain whether the duties of the position require the attainment of a 
specific bachelor's degree. See section 214(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the "Act"). The 
Service must then determine whether the alien has the appropriate degree for the occupation. In the 
case of speculative employment, the Service is unable to perform either part of this two-prong analysis 
and, therefore, is unable to adjudicate properly a request for H-1 B classification. Moreover, there is no 
assurance that the alien will engage in a specialty occupation upon arrival in this country. 
Petitioning Requirements for the H Nonimmigrant Classification, 63 Fed. Reg. 30,419, 30,419-20 (proposed June 4, 
1998) (to be codified at 8 C.F.R. pt. 214). While a petitioner is certainly permitted to change its intent with regard to 
non-speculative employment, e.g., a change in duties or job location, it must nonetheless document such a material 
change in intent through an amended or new petition in accordance with 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(2)(i)(E). 
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Matter of 1-S-, LLC 
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 cannot be found that 
the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
IV. CONCLUSION 
The burden is on the Petitioner to show eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of 
the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Here, that burden has not been met. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
Cite as Matter of 1-S-, LLC, ID# 222775 (AAO Feb. 28, 2017)