dismissed H-1B Case: Finance

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
bw 
FILE: WAC 04 050 52541 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: mR 
 2006 
IN RE: Petitioner: 
Beneficiary: 
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 lOl(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. 
WAC 04 050 52541 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The 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, a communications camer with five employees, seeks to hire the beneficiary as a financial 
analyst. The petitioner, therefore, endeavors to classify the beneficiary as a nonirnrnigrant 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 10 1 (a)( 15)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition on the basis that the petitioner had failed to establish that the proposed position 
meets the definition of a specialty occupation as set forth at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
On appeal, counsel contends that the director erred in denying the petition, and that the proposed position in fact 
qualifies for classification as a specialty occupation under all four criteria set forth at 
8 C.F.R. 
 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). Counsel asserts that in denying the petition, the director gravely abused his 
discretion. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains (1) the Form 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for evidence (WE); (3) the petitioner's RFE response and supporting documentation; 
(4) the director's denial letter; and (5) the Form I-290B and supporting documentation. The AAO reviewed the 
record in its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The issue on appeal is whether the petitioner's proposed position qualifies for classification as a specialty 
occupation. Section 214(i)(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 1184(i)(l) defines 
the term "specialty occupation" as one 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 term "specialty occupation" is further defined at 8 C.F.R. 
 214.2(h)(4)(ii) as: 
An occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly 
specialized knowledge in fields of human endeavor including, but not limited to, architecture, 
engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, 
business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts, and which requires the 
attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific specialty, or its equivalent, as a 
minimum for entry into the occupation in the United States. 
Pursuant to 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; 
WAC 04 050 52541 
Page 3 
(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 above criteria to mean not just 
any baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific specialty that is directly related to the proposed 
position. 
To determine whether a particular job qualifies as a specialty occupation, CIS does not simply rely on a 
position's title. The specific duties of the proffered position, combined with the nature of the petitioning 
entity's business operations, are factors to be considered. CIS must examine the ultimate employment of the 
alien, and determine whether the position qualifies as a specialty occupation. Cf Defensor v. Meissner, 201 
F. 3d 384 (5th Cir. 2000). The critical element is not the title of the position nor an employer's self-imposed 
standards, but whether the position actually requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of 
highly specialized knowledge, 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. 
The petitioner states that it is seeking the beneficiary's services as a financial analyst. The petitioner's 
December 1,2003 letter of support set forth the following description of the duties of the proposed position: 
As a Financial Analyst, [the beneficiary] will be asked to provide monthly financial reports 
for internal functions and specific Financial Statement Line Items. Analysis will include 
comparison of results to budget and will require a detailed review of actual monthly spending 
on various levels. She will be asked to assist in the budgeting and forecasting of these 
functions. She will interface directly with the management to satisfy certain internal 
reporting requirements for the organization. Further, she will implement an effective 
financial control system that will monitor the operations of our business. This system shall 
facilitate preparation of budget variance analysis and reports to external auditors. 
Specifically, [the beneficiary] will be responsible for providing complex financial 
information, plans[,] and projections, utilizing her knowledge of managerial economics. She 
will gather and analyze company financial statements, regulatory and economic information, 
and financial periodicals. Further, she will interpret data concerning price, yield, stability[,] 
and future trends of investments. Furthermore, she will manage timetables and due dates 
with assigned areas of responsibility allowing ample time for consolidation and analysis. In 
so doing, [the beneficiary] will help reduce significant financial risk to our company and in 
turn, maximize profits. She will spend 70% of her time performing the said duties. 
In addition to her financial analysis work, 30% of her time will be spent in supporting the 
sales and marketing group with strong analytical and financial modelling [sic] to perform 
industry and competitive research, assessment of marketing initiatives, channel performance 
analysis, sales analysis, pricing, [and] developing new sales programs. [The beneficiary] will 
interface with field sales regarding customer credit risk assessments and requests for credit 
approval. She will perform financial analysis as necessary to establish customer credit limits 
and participate in [the] maintenance and update of customer credit limits to support [the 
petitioner's] risk management objectives. She will also apply 3'* party purchasers of 
receivable with credit information and analysis to increase the level of Account Receivables 
sales. She will recommend budget methodologies, validate budget requests[,] and input 
WAC 04 050 52541 
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information into the budget models. Further, [slhe will be responsible [for] analyzing and 
interpreting data using appropriate and established research and statistical methodologies, 
deriving meaningful conclusions and implications from the data, and organizing and 
presenting findings to management. 
The occupation of a financial analyst is a normally a specialty occupation, requiring those seeking entry-level 
employment to have at least a bachelor's degree. However, while the petitioner has identified its position 
proposed here as that of a financial analyst, its description of the beneficiary's duties lacks the specificity and 
detail necessary to support its contention. 
At the time of filing, the petitioner offered a vague and generic description of the beneficiary's duties. In its 
response to the director's request for evidence and on appeal, counsel also contends that the very similarity 
between the petitioner's description of its proposed position and the Department of Labor's Occupational 
Outlook Handbook's (the Handbook) description of the occupation of financial analyst should be a basis for 
approval. 
The AAO does not agree. A petitioner cannot establish its employment as a specialty occupation by simply 
describing the duties of that employment in the same general terms as those used by the Handbook in 
discussing an occupational title, e.g., stating that as its financial analyst the beneficiary will analyze financial 
information to forecast the future financial position of the company. This type of generalized description is 
necessary when defining the range of duties that may be performed within an occupation, but cannot be relied 
upon by a petitioner to meaningfully convey the level of knowledge involved in the duties attached to specific 
employment. In establishing a position as a specialty occupation, a petitioner must describe the duties and 
responsibilities to be performed by a beneficiary in relation to its particular business interests with sufficient 
specificity to establish that the their performance requires the theoretical and practical application of the 
highly specialized knowledge attained by achieving at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in a specific 
specialty. 
The Handbook indicates that financial analysts provide analysis and guidance to businesses and individuals to 
help them with their investment decisions. They assess the economic performance of companies and 
industries for firms and institutions with money to invest. The petitioner is a communications canier with 
five employees. There is no indication in the record of the kinds of investment decisions that the financial 
analyst would assist the petitioner in making. Nor has the petitioner offered any information regarding the 
amount of funds available to invest. Simply going on record without supporting documentary evidence is not 
sufficient for the purpose of meeting the burden of proof in these proceedings. Matter of Treasure Craft of 
California, 14 I&N Dec. 190 (Reg. Comm. 1972). 
In the instant case, the petitioner has offered no description of the duties of its proposed position beyond the 
generalized outline it provided at the time of filing. The petitioner limits its information about the proposed 
position to general duties generic to financial management, such as assistance in budgeting, implementation 
of a financial control system, "providing complex financial information, plans, and projections," and 
providing "strong financial modeling." Such abstract descriptions fail to convey the skills, competencies, and 
knowledge required for the proposed position because they do not relate what actual performance of the 
duties would entail in the context of the petitioner's particular business operations. The petitioner therefore 
has not established that the position meets any of the requirements for a specialty occupation set forth at 8 
C.F.R. 3 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). A generalized description cannot substitute for a description of the specific 
duties to be performed by the beneficiary. As previously noted, CIS must examine the actual employment of 
an alien, i.e., the specific tasks to be performed by that alien, to determine whether a position qualifies as a 
specialty occupation. However, the petitioner's description of the duties of its position is so vague and 
WAC 04 050 52541 
Page 5 
generic that it is not possible to identify those specific tasks and, therefore, whether the proposed position is 
that of a financial analyst. Further, without a reliable description of the position's duties, the AAO is unable to 
determine whether the performance of those duties meets the statutory definition of a specialty occupation - 
employment requiring the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and 
the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum for 
entry into the occupation. As a result, the MO finds that the petitioner has failed to establish that it has a 
specialty occupation for which it is seeking the beneficiary's services. 
Therefore, for the reasons related in the preceding discussion, the petitioner has failed to establish that the 
proposed position qualifies for classification as a specialty occupation, and the petition was properly denied. 
The petitioner has failed to establish that the proposed position qualifies for classification as a specialty 
occupation. Accordingly, the MO will 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. 
3 1361. The petitioner has not sustained that burden. 
ORDER: 
 The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.