dismissed H-1B Case: Health Services Management

identifying data deleted to 
prevent clearly unwarranted 
invasion of personal privacy 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
PUBLIC COW 
FILE: SRC 05 157 52298 Office: TEXAS SERVICE CENTER Date: AUG 1 5 2006 
PETITION: Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section 10 1 (a)(l 5)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 9 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 inqulry must be made to that office. 
Robert P. Wiemann, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
SRC 05 157 52298 
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 assisted living facility that seeks to employ the beneficiary as a night shift health services 
manager. The petitioner endeavors to classifL the beneficiary as a nonimmigrant 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 because the proffered position is not a specialty occupation. On appeal, 
counsel submits a brief. 
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. 
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; 
(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. 
5 214.2@)(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. 
SRC 05 157 52298 
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The petitioner is seeking the beneficiary's services as a night shift health services manager. Evidence of the 
beneficiary's duties includes the 1-129 petition and the petitioner's response to the director's request for 
evidence. According to this evidence, the beneficiary would perform duties that entail, in part: coordinating, 
directing and overseeing the delivery of medicine and the provision of needed services for care, including 
bathing, feeding and dressing residents; responding to any medical emergencies and malung decisions 
regarding the need for intervention or contacting physicians or services to transport residents to hospitals; 
supervising all staff members providing these services to residents and those providing other services for the 
maintenance and operation of the facility; planning, directing and coordinating medicine and health services; 
administering fiscal operations, including planning budgets, authorizing expenditures and coordinating 
financial reports; directing and coordinating the activities of medical, nursing, technical, clerical, service and 
maintenance personnel; and implementing and administering programs and services. The petitioner indicated 
that a qualified candidate for the job would possess a bachelor's degree in nursing. 
The director found that the proffered position was not a specialty occupation. The director found further that 
the petitioner failed to establish any of the criteria found at 8 C.F.R. $ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
On appeal, counsel states that the duties of the proffered position most resemble those of a medical and health 
services manager, which is a specialty occupation. Counsel states that the Department of Labor's 
Occupational Outlook Handbook (Handbook) indicates that a master's degree is a standard requirement for 
entry into the profession in large facilities and that a bachelor's degree may be adequate for smaller facilities, 
such as the petitioner's. Counsel asserts that the director mistakenly interpreted one sentence from the 
Handbook, which states that some physician's offices may substitute experience for a degree, as meaning that 
a degree is not the normal requirement for entry into the occupation. 
Upon review of the record, the petitioner has established none of the four criteria outlined in 8 C.F.R. 
$ 214.2@)(4)(iii)(A). Therefore, the proffered position is not a specialty occupation. 
The AAO turns first to the criteria at 8 C.F.R. $ 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 fms 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 115 1, 1165 
@.Minn. 1999)(quoting Hird/Blaker 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. The duties of a position, rather than the title, are used to analyze whether a job is a 
specialty occupation. Titles of positions, by themselves, are not reliable indicators of whether positions are 
specialty occupations. 
SRC 05 157 52298 
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The AAO does not concur with counsel that the position falls under the description of a medical and health 
services manager. Many of the duties of the proffered position are similar to those of a nurse or head nurse. A 
review of the registered nurse job description in the Handbook indicates that a nurse may supervise nursing staff, 
establish work schedules and budgets, and maintain medical supply inventories. No evidence in the Handbook 
indicates that a baccalaureate or higher degree, or its equivalent, is required for a registered nurse job. 
The petitioner did not submit any evidence regarding parallel positions in the petitioner's industry or any 
evidence from professional associations regarding an industry standard. Additionally, the petitioner did not 
provide documentation to support the complexity or uniqueness of the proffered position. Thus, the petitioner 
has not established the criteria set forth at 8 C.F.R. $ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(I) or (2). 
The AAO now turns to the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(3) - the employer normally requires a 
degree or its equivalent for the position. There is no evidence in the record regarding the petitioner's past hiring 
practices and the petitioner is not able to meet this criterion. 
Finally, the AAO turns to the criterion at 8 C.F.R. $ 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 hgher 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. The AAO notes that on the Form 1-129, the petitioner stated that it had seven 
employees and gross annual income of $750,000. In its response to the director's request for evidence, the 
petitioner stated that it had just expanded and had "licensing approval to house tho-three (33) residents." 
There is no evidence in the record to support any of these claims. As a result, there is no evidence to establish 
the complexity of the proffered position, or that the duties of the position may require a four-year degree in a 
specialty. Therefore, the evidence does not establish that the proffered position is a specialty occupation 
under 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 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. $ 1361. 
The petitioner has not sustained that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.