dismissed H-1B Case: Courier Services

identifying data deleted to 
prevent clearly unwarranted 
invasion of personal privacy 
PUBLIC COPY 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: SRC 04 2 1 1 50069 Office: TEXAS SERVICE CENTER 
$$Z, 
Date: AUG 2 9 2006 
PETITION: Petition for a Nonirnrnigrant Worker Pursuant to Section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: Self-represented 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All materials 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 
SRC 04 2 1 1 50069 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The service center director denied the nonirnrnigrant visa petition. The matter is now on appeal 
before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The appeal will be dismissed. -The petition will be denied. 
The petitioner is a courier service. It seeks to employ the beneficiary as a general and operations manager and 
to classify him as a nonirnmigrant worker in a specialty occupation pursuant to section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. $ 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition on the ground that record failed to establish that the proffered position is a 
specialty occupation. 
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. 
As provided in 8 C.F.R. $ 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(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 proffered position. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains: (1) Fonn 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for evidence (RFE); (3) the petitioner's response to the RFE; (4) the director's decision; and 
(5) Form I-290B and an appeal brief. The AAO reviewed the record in its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The petitioner describes itself as a courier service that delivers merchandise and packages in Broward, Miami- 
Dade, and Palm Beach counties in Florida. The petitioner indicates that its business was established in 2000 
and expected to have eight employees by 2005, including six drivers, a coordinator, and a general and 
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operations manager. A copy of the petitioner's federal income tax return for 2003 lists gross receipts for that 
year of $140,368. The petitioner proposes to hire the beneficiary as its general and operations manager to 
oversee the general operation and financial management of the company. In a statement accompanying the 
Form 1-129 the petitioner stated that the beneficiary would have a wide scope of authority in regard to: 
Establishment of objectives, goals and policies for the corporation as a whole and for its 
commercial division. 
Design of the organization. 
Hiring, direction, and evaluation of the work force. 
Definition and hiring of physical resources. 
Definition and execution of promotional activity. 
Contracting with customers. 
In response to the RFE the petitioner provided a more detailed description of the proffered position's duties, 
which read as follows: 
Re-launch and Reorganization of Company Areas 
Direct, plan, and implement the new policies and objectives of the organization or business in 
accordance with board of directors. 
Direct activities required in the organization to set the procedures and establish responsibilities 
and coordinate functions among departments and sites. 
Analyze operations to evaluate performance of company and each department of the organization. 
Review financial statements, sales and activity reports to ensure that organization's objectives 
have been achieved. 
Establish internal control procedures and adequate function segregation. 
Marketing Area 
Identify, develop, and evaluate marketing strategy, based on market characteristics, cost and 
contribution to the company. 
Develop marketing strategies. 
Formulate, direct, and coordinate marketing activities oriented to promote the services offered to 
the market. 
Hire, train, and direct the sales and marketing training performance. 
Negotiate contracts with clients. 
Ensure the sales and profitability of services using suitable tools for forecasting and strategic 
planning. 
Finance Area 
Direct the preparation of the financial statements, the business report, budgets, projections and the 
information to the different authorities. 
Evaluate, design and implement the internal control policies. 
Establish financial objectives in the short and long term. 
Analyze and classify the risk of each operation, investment, or contract and the final result. 
SRC 04 21 1 50069 
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Approve lines of credit inside-out of the company. 
Supervise employees performing financial, accounting, payroll and budgeting duties. 
Plan, direct, and coordinate activities for the personnel located in different locations. 
Operations Area 
Direct and coordinate the daily operations. 
Establish the critical path to get the delivery goals. 
Propose and establish communication systems with the operations personnel. 
Handle the personnel, make the work distribution and assign specific tasks. 
Review the company information and results to evaluate the productivity and achieve objectives 
and establish the areas that need to be improved. 
Establish the operational staff requirements, hire and train the new employees. 
Attend, resolve, and inform about customer claims. 
Monitor the satellite offices of the company. 
The beneficiary is qualified for the proffered position, the petitioner declares, by virtue of his degree in 
business administration from Santiago de Cali University in Colombia, awarded on March 24, 2000. 
According to the report of an educational credentials evaluation service in Miami, Florida, the beneficiary's 
education is equivalent to a bachelor's degree in business administration from an accredited U.S. college or 
university. 
In her decision the director declared that the duties of the proffered position did not appear to be complex 
enough to require a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty. The director concluded that the proffered 
position does not qualify as a specialty occupation under any of the criteria enumerated at 8 C.F.R. 
5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
On appeal the petitioner asserts that the duties of the proffered position are so specialized and complex that 
knowledge associated with a baccalaureate or higher degree is required to perform them. The petitioner refers 
to the O*NET Online as confirming that the position normally requires at least a baccalaureate degree, and 
identifies several other companies in the industry as evidence that a degree requirement is common to the 
industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. 
In determining whether a position meets the statutory and regulatory criteria of a specialty occupation, CIS 
routinely consults the Department of Labor (D0L)'s Occupational Outlook Handbook (Handbook) as an 
authoritative source of information about the duties and educational requirements of particular occupations. 
Factors typically considered are whether the Handbook indicates a degree is required by the industry; 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 
HiraBlaker Corp. v. Suva, 764 F.Supp. 1095, 1102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)). CIS also analyzes the specific duties 
and complexity of the position at issue, with the Handbook's occupational descriptions as a reference, as well 
as the petitioner's past hiring practices for the position. See Shanti, Inc. v. Reno, id., at 1165-66. 
The AAO determines that the proffered position involves a combination of duties that fall under two different 
occupational categories in the Handbook. One is "general and operations manager," a sub-category of the 
SRC 04 2 1 1 50069 
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broad occupational category called "top executives." The duties of the occupation are described as follows in 
the DOL Handbook, 2006-07 edition, at 68: 
General and operations managers plan, direct, or coordinate the operations of companies or 
public and private sector organizations. Their duties include formulating policies, managing 
daily operations, and planning the use of materials and human resources, but are too diverse 
and general in nature to be classified in any one area of management or administration, such 
as personnel, purchasing, or administrative services. In some organizations, the duties of. . . 
operations managers may overlap the duties of chief executive officers. 
The other occupational category applicable to the proffered position is "transportation, storage, and 
distribution manager," the duties of which are described as follows in the Handbook, id., at 662: "Plan, 
direct, or coordinate transportation, storage, or distribution activities in accordance with governmental 
policies and regulations. Includes logistics managers." 
The Handbook describes the educational background and experience of top executives, including operations 
managers, as follows: 
The formal education and experience of top executives varies as widely as the nature of their 
responsibilities. Many top executives have a bachelor's or higher degree in business 
administration or liberal arts . . . . 
Some top executives in the public sector have a background in public administration or 
liberal arts. Others might have a background related to their jobs . . . . 
Many top executive positions are filled from within the organization by promoting 
experienced, lower level managers when an opening occurs. In industries such as retail trade 
or transportation, for instance, it is possible for individuals without a college degree to work 
their way up within the company and become managers. [Emphasis added.] However, many 
companies prefer that their top executives have specialized backgrounds and, therefore, hire 
individuals who have been managers in other organizations. 
Id. at 68-69. The foregoing information indicates that degrees in a variety of different fields are suitable for 
many general andlor operations manager positions, and that some individuals attain such positions without a 
college degree. In the transportation industry, of which the petitioner is a part, relevant managerial 
experience may substitute for a baccalaureate degree of any sort. Thus, there is ample opportunity to enter 
into a general or operations manager position without a baccalaureate or higher deg~ee in a specific specialty. 
As for transportation, storage, and distribution managers - including logistics managers - the Handbook states 
the following: "Most significant source of education or training: Work experience in a related occupation." 
Id. at 662. 
The petitioner cites another DOL resource on occupations - O*NET Online. As discussed in the director's 
decision, however, the excerpts in the record do not identify a particular occupation and do not state that a 
baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty is required. 
SRC 04 2 1 1 50069 
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Based on the foregoing information the AAO concludes that the proffered position does not meet the first 
alternative criterion of a specialty occupation, at 8 C.F.R. 9 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(l), because a baccalaureate 
degree in a specific specialty is not the normal minimum requirement for entry into the position. 
With regard to the second alternative criterion of a specialty occupation, at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2), 
the petitioner has identified four companies - all apparently in the courier business - as evidence of an 
industry standard requiring a specialty degree for operations and/or operations managers. The petitioner has 
provided no information about the subject companies, nor any evidence that they employ general and/or 
operations managers, what duties they perform, or the degree requirements for such positions. The petitioner 
has not identified any individuals who work as general and/or operations managers with the companies, nor 
submitted any evidence of their educational degrees. Thus, the record does not establish that a degree 
requirement in a specific specialty is common to the petitioner's industry in parallel positions among similar 
organizations, as required for the proffered position to qualify as a specialty occupation under the first prong 
of 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2). Nor does the evidence of record demonstrate that the proffered position 
is so complex or unique that a degree in a specific specialty is required to perform the job. The job is not 
unique, and the petitioner has not shown that it is so specialized that it could not be performed by an 
individual with less than a baccalaureate degree. Accordingly, the proffered position does not qualify as a 
specialty occupation under the second prong of 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2 (h)(4)(iii)(A)(2). 
As for the third alternative criterion of a specialty occupation, the proffered position is newly created and the 
petitioner has no hiring history for it. Thus, the petitioner cannot show that it normally requires a 
baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty, as required for the position to qualify as a specialty 
occupation under 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(3). 
Finally, the record does not establish that the duties of the proffered position are so specialized and complex 
that they require knowledge usually associated with a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. 
As far as the record shows, the duties of the position could be performed by an individual with less than 
baccalaureate level knowledge in a specific specialty. Accordingly, the position does not meet the fourth 
alternative criterion of a specialty occupation at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2 (h)(4)(iii)(A)(4). 
For the reasons discussed above, the record does not establish that the proffered position meets any of the 
criteria enumerated at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) to qualify as a specialty occupation. The petitioner has 
not established that the beneficiary will be coming temporarily to the United States to perform services in a 
specialty occupation, as required under section lOl(a)(l 5)(H)(i)(b) of the Act, 8 U.S. 3 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). 
The petitioner bears the burden of proof in these proceedings. See section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1361. The 
petitioner has not sustained that burden. Accordingly, the AAO will not disturb the director's decision denying 
the petition. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.