dismissed H-1B Case: Computer Science

identifying data deleted to 
prevent clearly unwarranted 
hv'M of personal privacy 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
PUBLIC COPY 
FILE: Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date:A@ 0 7 2006 
PETITION: Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1 10 1 (a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS : 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that office. 
Robert P. Wiemann, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 04 194 51 118 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The service center director denied the nonimmigrant visa petition and the matter is now before 
the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be dismissed. The petition will be denied. 
The petitioner is an insurance business that seeks to employ the beneficiary as a computer application 
administrator. The petitioner endeavors to classify the beneficiary as a nonimmigrant worker in a specialty 
occupation pursuant to lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 
8 U.S.C. 9 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition because the proffered position is not a specialty occupation. On appeal, 
counsel does not submit a separate brief or evidence. He states as follows: 
The position being offered, Computer Application Administrator, is a specialty occupation. 
1. Based on the duties to be performed, the position is programmer-analyst oriented. 
2. The USCIS citation of [the] description of the training and other qualification[s] required for 
Computer Support Specialists or Systems Administrator[s] from [the] OOH is incomplete. The 
USCIS omitted the second paragraph, which clearly states "requiring a college degree" for this 
position. 
3. On 10/20/04, the USCIS issued a RFE notice. There is no question about whether the job 
offered is a specialty occupation. 
4. A bachelor's degree normally is required for Application support and customization in all 
industry [sic]. 
Counsel contends on appeal that the director violated 8 C.F.R. 9 103.2@)(8) by failing to request further 
evidence before denying the petition about whether the job offered is a specialty occupation. The cited 
regulation requires the director to request additional evidence in instances "where there is no evidence of 
ineligibility, and initial evidence or eligibility information is missing." Id. The director is not required to issue 
a request for further information in every potentially deniable case. If the director determines that the initial 
evidence supports a decision of denial, the cited regulation does not require solicitation of further 
documentation. The director did not deny the petition based on insufficient evidence of eligibility. 
Furthermore, even if the director had committed a procedural error by failing to solicit further evidence, it is 
not clear what remedy would be appropriate beyond the appeal process itself. The petitioner has in fact 
supplemented the record on appeal, and therefore it would serve no useful purpose to remand the case simply 
to afford the petitioner the opportunity to supplement the record with new evidence. 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 9 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 
Page 3 
(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. 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), to qualify as a specialty occupation, the position must meet one of 
the following criteria: 
(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. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) interprets the term "degree" in the criteria at 
8 C.F.R. $214.2@)(4)(iii)(A) to mean not just any baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific 
specialty that is directly related to the proffered position. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains: (1) Form 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for additional evidence; (3) the petitioner's response to the director's request; (4) the 
director's denial letter; and (5) Form I-290B and supporting documentation. The AAO reviewed the record in 
its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The petitioner is seeking the beneficiary's services as a computer application administrator. Evidence of the 
beneficiary's duties includes: the 1-129 petition; the petitioner's June 21,2004 letter in support of the petition; 
and the petitioner's response to the director's request for evidence. According to this evidence, the beneficiary 
would perform duties that entail: maintaining the petitioner's insurance analysis and accounting systems; 
making necessary adjustments and customization to meet the petitioner's operation needs; providing technical 
training and support to end users; installing and configuring application sofhvare for end users; installing 
applications on network and workstations; developing plan to meet emergency data processing needs; 
programming automatic report-generating software; coordinating with outsourcing projects; and assisting in 
the development of a corporate website and online service. Although not explicitly stated, it appears that the 
petitioner requires a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent in a computer-related field for the proffered 
position. 
The director found that the proffered position, which is primarily that of a computer support specialist and 
systems administrator, was not a specialty occupation. Citing to the Department of Labor's (DOL) 
Occupational Outlook Handbook (Handbook), 2004-2005 edition, the director noted that the minimum 
requirement for entry into the position was not a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty. 
WAC 04 194 51118 
- 
Page 4 
The director found further that the petitioner failed to establish any of the criteria found at 
8 C.F.R. 4 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
Upon review of the record, the petitioner has established none of the four criteria outlined in 
8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). Therefore, the proffered position is not a specialty occupation. 
The AAO turns first to the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 4 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(I) and (2): a baccalaureate or higher 
degree or its equivalent is the normal minimum requirement for entry into the particular position; a degree 
requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations; or a particular 
position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree. 
Factors often considered by CIS when determining these criteria include: whether the Handbook reports that the 
industry requires a degree; whether the industry's professional association has made a degree a minimum entry 
requirement; and whether letters or affidavits from firms or individuals in the industry attest that such firms 
"routinely employ and recruit only degreed individuals." See Shanti, Inc. v. Reno, 36 F. Supp. 2d 1151, 1165 (D. 
Minn. 1999)(quoting HirdIBlaker COT. v. Sava, 712 F. Supp. 1095,1102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)). 
The AAO routinely consults the Handbook for its information about the duties and educational requirements of 
particular occupations. A review of the Computer Support Specialists and Systems Administrators category in the 
Handbook, 2006-2007 edition, finds that the proffered position is primarily that of a network administrator or 
computer systems administrator. According to the DOL, network adrmnistrators and computer systems 
administrators perform the following duties: 
[Dlesign, install, and support an organization's local-area network (LAN), wide-area network 
(WAN), network segment, Internet, or intranet system. They provide day-to-day onsite 
admmistrative support for software users in a variety of work environments, including professional 
offices, small businesses, government, and large corporations. They maintain network hardware 
and software, analyze problems, and monitor the network to ensure its availability to system users. 
These workers gather data to identify customer needs and then use the information to identify, 
interpret, and evaluate system and network requirements. Administrators also may plan, 
coordinate, and implement network security measures. 
No evidence in the Handbook indicates that a baccalaureate or hgher degree, or its equivalent, is required for 
these jobs. Further, although counsel asserts on appeal that the proffered position is programmer-analyst 
oriented, a review of the Computer Programmers job qualifications in the Handbook, finds that there are 
many training paths available for computer programmers, and the associate degree is a widely used entry- 
level credential. No evidence in the Handbook indicates that a baccalaureate or higher degree, or its equivalent, is 
required for a programmerlprogrammer analyst job. In view of the foregoing, the petitioner has not established 
that a baccalaureate or higher degree, or its equivalent, is required for the position described in the instant 
petition. 
The record does not include any evidence regarding parallel positions in the petitioner's industry. The record 
also does not include any evidence from firms, individuals, or professional associations regarding an industry 
standard, or documentation to support the complexity or uniqueness of the proffered position. Further, the 
record of proceeding contains no information about the proffered position that distinguishes it as unique from 
Page 5 
or more complex than the general occupational categories of computer support specialists, systems 
administrators, and computer programmers, for which the Handbook does not report a normal requirement for at 
least a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent, in a specific specialty. 
The petitioner, therefore, has not established the criteria set forth at 8 C.F.R. 9 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(I) or (2). 
The AAO now turns to the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 3 214.2@)(4)(iii)(A)(3) - the employer normally requires a 
degree or its equivalent for the position. As counsel does not address this issue on appeal, it will not be discussed 
further. The evidence of record does not establish this criterion. 
Finally, the AAO turns to the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 8 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(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. 
To the extent that they are depicted in the record, the duties do not appear so specialized and complex as to 
require the highly specialized knowledge associated with a baccalaureate or higher degree, or its equivalent, 
in a specific specialty. As described, those duties appear no more specialized and complex than those general 
duties which the Handbook attributes to the general occupational category of computer support specialists, 
systems administrators, and computer programmers, for which the Handbook does not indicate a normal 
requirement for usual association with at least a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty. The AAO does not 
concur with counsel that the proffered position is a specialty occupation. In this case, information on the petition 
indicates that the petitioner is an insurance business with nine employees and a gross annual income of 
$1,200,000. The petitioner has not described the duties of a computer support specialist that would require a 
four-year, rather than a two-year, degree. Therefore, the evidence does not establish that the proffered position 
is a specialty occupation under 8 C.F.R. 9 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(4). 
As related in the discussion above, the petitioner has failed to establish that the proffered position is a 
specialty occupation. Accordingly, the AAO shall not disturb the director's denial of the petition. 
The burden of proof in these proceedings rests solely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. tj 1361. 
The petitioner has not sustained that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.