dismissed H-1B Case: Finance

U.S. Depadment of Homeland Security 
20 Mass Ave., N.W., Rhn. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: EAC 03 129 53673 Office: VERMONT SERVICE CENTER Date: ~p7 n G 21 !?I$ 
\-&d - , 
FETEION: Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section BOl(a)(BS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1101(a)(15>(H)(i)(b) 
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, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
EAC 03 129 53673 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The director of the service center denied the noni grant 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 a wholesaler and retailer of cellular phones and accessories. h seeks to employ the 
beneficiary as a financial specialist. The petitioner, therefore, endeavors to classify the beneficiary as a 
grant worker in a specialty occupation pursuant to section 101 (a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration md 
Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 1101(a)(B5)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition on the ground that the prof'ered position is not a specialty occupation. On 
appeal, counsel submits a brief and additional evidence. 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1184(i)(l), defines the tern "specialty occupation" as am occupation 
that requires: 
(A) theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized howledge, md 
(B) attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in tlne specific specialty (or its equivalent) 
as a minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. 
Pmsuant 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) Time degree requirement is comon 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 perfomed only by an individual with a degree; 
(3) The employer nonnally 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 tern "degree" in the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 
5 214.2(h)(3)(iii)(A) to mean not just any baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific speciahy that is 
directly related to the proffered position. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains: (1) Fonn 1-129 and supporting docuramentation; (2) the 
director's request for additional evidence; (3) the petitioner's response to the director's request; (4) the 
EAC 03 129 53673 
Page 3 
director's denial letter; and (5) Fonn I-29OB 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 financial specialist. Evidence of the beneficiary's 
duties includes: the Fom 1-129; the attachments accompanying the Fonn 1-129; the petitioner's support letter; 
and the petitioner's response to the director's request for evidence. According to this evidence, the 
beneficiary would perform duties that entail preparing budgets; forecasting markets and preparing financial 
reports; reviewing and analyzing business operations and future investment plans; recommending the most 
advantageous business expansion and investment strategies; performing performance evaluations; handling 
cost and managemnt asset; recording and analyzing financial information; compiling and preparing financial 
data for accounting, bookkeeping, financial management and auditing; verifying the accuracy of records, 
checking for mismanagement, waste, and fraud; examining and evaluating financial and infomation systems, 
management procedures, and internal controls to ensure that records are accurate and controls are adequate to 
protect against fraud and waste and ensure that business operations are efficient; reviewing operations to 
evaluate their efficiency, effectiveness, and compIiance with corporate policies and procedures, laws, and 
government regulations; analyzing and interpreting financial infomation to assist management in making 
sound business decisions; assisting in devePoping a solid retirement plan with prudent investments; and 
utilizing computer skills to manage financial data, implement internal control, and develop accounting 
methods, financial plans, and budgets. The petitioner requires a bachelor's degree with courses in accounting. 
The director stated that many of the proposed duties reflect those of a bookkeeper, and that the Department of 
Labor's (DOL) Occupational Outlook findbook (the Handbook) reports that this occupation does not require 
a bachelor's degree. The director stated that it is unlikely that the petitioner requires the services of a full- 
time financial specialist based on the size and scope of the business. The director found the job posting 
uaapersuasive in establishing that the proposed position requires a bachelor's degree, and referenced 
Defenssvv. Meissner, 201 F. 3d 384 (5th Cir. 20003, which states that CIS must examine the ultimate 
employment of the alien, and determine whether the position qualifies as a specialty occupation; and that the 
critical element is not the title of the position or an employer's self-imposed standards, but whether the 
position actually requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized howledge, 
and the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in the specific specialty as the minimum for entry into 
the occupation as required by the Act. 
On appeal, counsel nmates the proposed duties and mistakenly states that the petitioner seeks to employ the 
beneficiary as an accounting consuitant, instead of a financial specialist. Counsel discusses several cases and 
asserts that they show that an accounting consultant qualifies as a specialty occupation. According to counsel, 
the petitioner requires the services of an accounting consultant due to its stage of growth. Counsel asserts that 
in light of the petitioner's success in the market and establishment of new branches of the company, it needs 
$0 streamline operations in order to obtain a profit margin ratio and organize and computerize financial 
documents and procedures. Counsel states that the petitioner is involved in implementation of custom 
software for wireless equipment wholesalers, and that it has developed custom software for maintaining 
accounts at one location, and has obtained contracts for maintaining such accounting. To help in expanding, 
counsel claims that the petitioner requires someone to compile financial documents thereby permitting the 
EAC 03 129 53673 
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petitioner to have a clear financial picture of the company so that it can make accurate business decisions. 
Counsel emphasizes that the size of an employer Baas no relationship to the need for an accountant. Counsel 
states that the submitted bank statement reveals that the petitioner is financially viable. Counsel refers to the 
Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOa) to establish that the proposed position is a specialty occupation. 
Upon review of the record, the petitioner has established none of the four criteria outlined lam 8 C.F.R. 
8 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), Therefore, the proposed position is not a specialty occupation. 
The AAO fist considers the criteria at 8 C.F.W. $8 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(13 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 conamon 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 amaiirnuan en0 
requirement; and whether letters or affidavits fmm or individuals in the industry attest that such Gm 
"routinely employ and recruit only degreed individuals." See Shanti, Inc. v. Reno, 36 F. Supp. 2d 1151, 1165 
(D.Minn. 1999)(quoting HiraBlaker COT. v. Sava, 7312 F. Supp. 1095, 1102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)). 
In determining whether a position qualifies as a specialty occupation, CIS looks beyond the title sf the 
position and detemines, from a review of the duties of the position and any supporting evidence, whether the 
position actually requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge, 
and the attainment of a baccalaureate degree in a specific specialty as the ~nimum for entry into the 
occupation as required by the Act. 
Counsel refers to the Dictionary of Occ~tpational Titles (DO;T) to establish that the proposed position is a 
specialty occupation. The DOT'S SVP rating does not indicate that a particular occupation requires the 
attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree, or its equivalent, in a specific specialty as a minimum for 
entry into the occupation. An SVP rating and a Job Zone category are meant to indicate only the total number 
of years of vocational preparation required for a particular position. Neither classification describes how 
those years are to be divided among training, fomal education, and experience, nor specifies the particular 
type of degree, if any, that a position would require. 
The AAO often refers to the Handbook for infomation about the duties and educational requirements of 
particular occuptions. The Handbook reveals that the proposed position differs from that of an accountant. 
The findbook reports that specific job duties vary widely among the four major fields of accounting: public, 
management, government, and internal. Of these fields, the AAO finds that the closest category to the 
proposed position is the management accountant. The Handbook relays: 
Management accountants-also called cost, managerial, industrial, corporate, or private 
accountants-record and analyze the financial information of the companies for which they 
work. Other responsibilities include budgeting, performance evaluation, cost management, 
and asset management. Usually, management accountants are part of executive teams 
EAC 03 129 53673 
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involved in strategic planning or new-product development. They analyze and interpret the 
financial infomation that corporate executives need to make sound business decisions. They 
also prepase financial reports for nonrnanagement groups, including stockholders, creditors, 
regulatory agencies, and tax authorities. Within accounting departments, they may work in 
various areas, including financial analysis, planning and budgeting, and cost accounting. 
Many of the duties described in the Handbook do not apply to the proposed position. According to the 
Handbook, accountants prepare financial reports for nonmnagement groups, including stockholders, 
creditors, regulatory agencies, and tax authorities, and usually, they are part of executive teams. The 
beneficiary is not part of a management team and will not prepare financial reports for the described 
nonmanagemnt groups. In Pight of this dissimilarity between the proposed position and the Handbook's 
description of a management accountant, the scope and complexity of the beneficiary's duties and 
responsibilities differ from those of an accountant. Consequently, a bachelor's degree in accounting or a 
related field - which the DOE states is required for a mxnagement accountant - would not be required for the 
proposed position. 
Furthennore, the level of income generated by the petitioner has a direct and substantial bea~ng on the scope, 
complexity, and depth of the proposed duties. No evidence in the record reveals the level of income 
generated by the petitioner; the A40 notes that the petitioner failed to indicate this information as requested 
on the Fonn 1-129 petition. While the evidence of record does indicate that the proposed duties require some 
knowledge and application of accounting principles, since there is no evidence of the petitioner's income the 
AAO cannot find that the proposed position requires highly specialized knowledge in accounting that is at the 
baccalaureate level. The petitioner, therefore, fails to establish the regulation at 8 C.F.R. 
8 214.2(h)(4>(iii)(A)(d): that a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is the noml minimum 
requirement for entry into the particular position. 
No evidence in record establishes the first alternative prong at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(%1)(4)(iii)(A)O, which 
requires that the petitioner establish that a specific degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel 
positions among similar organizations. 
The second alternative prong at 8 C.F.R. 8 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2) requires that the petitioner show that its 
particular position is so complex or unique that it can be performed only by an individual with a degree. As 
discussed earlier, the beneficiary's duties differ from those of an accountant as that occupation is described in 
the Handbook. Although the evidence of record indicates that the proposed duties require some howledge 
and application of accounting principles, since the level of income generated by the petitioner is not disclosed, 
the AAO cannot find that the proposed duties are so complex or unique as to require a baccalaureate degree 4aa 
accounting or a related field. 
No evidence establishes the third criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), that the petitioner normally 
requires a degree or its equivalent for the position, as the petitioner does not have a past practice of requiring a 
bachelor's degree for the proposed position. 
EAC 03 129 53673 
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The fourth criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(11)(4)(iii)(A) requires that the petitioner establish that the nature of the 
specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perfom them is usually 
associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree. The AAO has already conveyed that the 
proposed duties differ from those of an accountant; and that while the evidence of record indicates that the 
proposed position requires some knowledge and application of accounting principles, since the petitioner's 
income is not disclosed, the AAO cannot find that the proposed duties are so specialized and complex as to be 
usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in accounting or a related field. 
Consequently, the petitioner fails to establish this fourth criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
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 294 ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1361. 
The petitioner has not sustained that buden. 
OWEW: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.