dismissed H-1B Case: Human Services

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: JAN. 14, 2025 In Re: 35228395 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Form 1-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (H-lB) 
The Petitioner seeks to employ the Beneficiary under the H-lB nonimmigrant classification for 
specialty occupations. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 
8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b). The H-lB program allows a U.S. employer to temporarily employ a 
qualified foreign worker in a position that requires both: (a) the theoretical and practical application 
of a body of highly specialized knowledge; and (b) the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in 
the specific specialty (or its equivalent) as a minimum prerequisite for entry into the position. 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, concluding the record did not 
establish that the Petitioner's proffered job qualified as a specialty occupation under section 
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Act and the Department of Labor (DOL) certified labor condition 
application (LCA) did not correspond to the Petitioner's proffered job. 1 The matter is now before us 
on appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.3. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). We review the questions in this matter 
de novo. Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 l&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 2015). Upon de novo review, 
we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LAW 
"Specialty Occupation" is defined as an occupation that requires: (A) the 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. See section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1184(i)(l). 
1 Upon de novo review we conclude the relevant evidence in the record sufficiently described the job duties with enough 
specificity to establish that the proffered job duties are contained in the job category listed in the LCA and therefore the 
LCA corresponds to the proffered job. As the resolution of the remaining issues is dispositive of the Petitioner's appeal, 
further analysis of this serves no legal purpose. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(ii) adds a non-exhaustive list of fields of endeavor to the 
statutory definition. And the regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) requires that the proffered 
position must also meet one of the following criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation: 
1. 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. 
USCIS analyzes the employer's prior practice, as well as the industry norm for parallel positions, to 
assure that a petitioner's requirements do not merely state a degree requirement or its equivalent in a 
specific specialty when such a degree is not actually required to perform the proffered job duties. 
See Matter of Caron International, Inc., 191 I&N Dec. 791, 793-794 (BIA 1988) The burden of 
proof to establish eligibility under the statute and regulation is squarely a petitioner's alone. See Royal 
Siam Corp. v. Chertoff, 484 F.3d 139, 145 (1st Cir. 2007) ("The burden of proving that a particular 
position comes within this taxonomy (and thus qualifies as a specialty occupation) is on the 
applicant."). 
Moreover, job title or broad occupational category alone does not determine whether a particular job 
is a specialty occupation under the regulations and statute. The nature of a petitioner's business 
operations along with the specific duties of the proffered job are also considered. We must evaluate 
the employment of the individual and determine whether the position qualifies as a specialty 
occupation. See Defensor v. Meissner, 201 F.3d 384 (5th Cir. 2000). So, a petitioner's self-imposed 
requirements are not as critical as whether the nature of the offered position requires the application 
of a theoretical and practical body of knowledge gained from earning the required baccalaureate or 
higher degree in the specific specialty (or its equivalent) required to accomplish the duties of the job. 
The statute and regulations must be read together to ensure the proffered position meets the definition 
of a specialty occupation. See K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U.S. 281, 291 (1988) (holding that 
construction of language which takes into account the design of the statute as a whole is preferred); 
see also COIT Independence Joint Venture v. Fed. Sav. And Loan Ins. Corp., 489 U.S. 561 (1989); 
Matter of W-F-, 21 I&N Dec. 503 (BIA 1996). Considering the statute and the regulations separately 
could lead to scenarios where a petitioner satisfies a regulatory factor, but not the definition of 
specialty occupation contained in the statute. See Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387. The regulatory criteria 
read together with the statute gives effect to the statutory intent. See Temporary Alien Workers 
Seeking Classification Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 56 Fed. Reg. 61111, 61112 (Dec. 
2, 1991). 
So, we construe the term "degree" in 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) to mean not just any baccalaureate 
or higher degree or its equivalent, but one in a specific specialty that is directly related to the proffered 
position supporting the statutory definition of specialty occupation or its equivalent. See Royal Siam 
Corp., 484 F.3d at 147 (1st Cir. 2007) (describing "a degree requirement in a specific specialty" as 
2 
"one that relates directly to the duties and responsibilities of a particular position"). USCIS' 
application of this standard has resulted in the orderly approval of H-lB petitions for engineers, 
certified public accountants, information technology professionals, and other occupations 
commensurate with what Congress intended when it created the H-lB category. 
II. ANALYSIS 
A. Background 
The Petitioner filed the Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, on the Beneficiary's behalf 
seeking a determination that its habilitation counselor position is a specialty occupation under section 
214(i)(l) of the Act so that the Beneficiary could be admitted to the United States and undertake the 
proffered position in H-1 B classification at multiple locations within a commutable distance in the 
State of New York. The Petitioner describes itself as a "not-for-profit provider of quality services for 
children and adults with psychological, behavioral, or neurological treatment needs." The Petitioner 
described the habilitation counselor's job duties, in part, to encompass responsibility in drafting and 
implementing lesson plans, "participate in the completion and annual assessments in preparation for 
goal planning for skill acquisition" and "confer with individuals to discuss their options and goals so 
that goals and supports can be developed." 
After review of the initial petition, the Director determined that the initial evidence in the record 
reflected a disparate range of baccalaureate degree fields unconnected with one another and the duties 
of the proffered job such that the range could constitute a specialty required to perform the proffered 
job duties. So, they issued a request for evidence (RFE) directing the Petitioner to demonstrate its 
proffered program manager position was a specialty occupation as described in the statute and 
applicable regulations. 
In response, the Petitioner submitted expanded job duties, an expert opinion position evaluation, a 
copy of Fed. R. Evid. 703, a copy of the "Rehabilitation Counselor" entry in the DOL's Occupational 
Outlook Handbook (Handbook), job postings advertising purportedly similar roles with other U.S. 
employers, a listing of fields of study that can be categorized as human services, the Beneficiary's 
educational documentation and credentials, and a representative sample of educational documents 
from other positions at the Petitioner's organization. 
As stated above, the Director denied the petitioner based on their determination that the record did not 
establish the Petitioner's proffered job qualified as a specialty occupation under section 
10l(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Act. We agree. 
B. Specialty Occupation - Wide and Disparate Acceptable Degree Field Range 
We conclude that the Petitioner's acceptance of a bachelor's degree from the wide variety of fields it 
specifies precludes the Petitioner from satisfying both the statutory and regulatory definition of 
specialty occupation. The record of proceedings reflects that the Petitioner would accept a bachelor's 
degree in psychology, sociology, social work, education, or "a related field or equivalent" for entry 
into the proffered job. 
3 
The Director correctly found this acceptable range of degrees too wide and denied the petition. The 
Petitioner's grouping of psychology, sociology, social work, education, or a related field or equivalent 
is not adequately supported in the record with evidence highlighting its composition as collectively 
forming a singular specialty from a body of highly specialized knowledge. The Petitioner provided a 
list of "closely related human services field[ s ]" populated with diverse fields like anthropology, 
criminal justice, nutrition, and divinity/religion/theology, all of which also broadly provide the skills 
required to perform the duties of the proffered job. The Petitioner's vague and general duties in 
combination with its mass grouping of degree fields constitutes a range so broad that it cannot compose 
a "specialty" required to perform the duties of a "specialty occupation." When the desired skills could 
be gained from any number of seemingly unrelated degrees, spanning from sciences such as 
anthropology to humanities-adjacent fields such as divinity, religion, and theology, the only 
conclusion can be that these skills are fundamental and not specialized. In fact, numerous unrelated 
specialties would fall within the Petitioner's minimum educational requirements with the Petitioner's 
desired range of skills. Such a position would not be considered specialized. See Caremax v. Holder, 
40 F.Supp.3d 1182, 1187-88 (N.D. Cal. 2014) ("A position that requires applicants to have any 
bachelor's degree, or a bachelor's degree in a large subset of field, can hardly be considered 
specialized."). The record as it is presently composed does not establish how the Petitioner's range of 
skills sourced from the diverse grouping of psychology, sociology, social work, education, or "a 
related field, of its equivalent" from the list of "closely related human services field[ s ]" the Petitioner 
provided, form a body of highly specialized knowledge or a specific specialty. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that "these human services degrees study youth and human 
behaviors, and "degrees from multiple fields can qualify for H-lB status without undermining the 
'specific' specialty component." The Petitioner cites to Raj & Co. vs. USCIS, 85 F.Supp.3d 1241 
(W.D. Wash 2015) and Residential Finance Corporation v. US. Citizenship & Immigration Servs., 
839 F.Supp.2d 985 (S.D. Ohio 2012) to conclude that its wide range of degrees can constitute a 
specialty required to perform the duties of a specialty occupation. We agree in so far that we interpret 
the statutory "the" and the regulatory "a" to mean a singular specialty, but we do not so narrowly 
interpret the statute and regulation such that multiple closely related fields of study would not 
constitute a specialty to perform the duties of a related specialty occupation. But, contrary to the 
Petitioner's assertion, the issue here is not that the Petitioner would accept degrees in various fields. 
The issue today is that the Petitioner's stated spectrum of acceptable degrees is too broad to support a 
finding that the proffered position requires a bachelor's degree in a specific specialty, or the equivalent. 
In general, a minimum of a bachelor's or higher degree in more than one specialty is recognized as 
satisfying the "degree in the specific specialty ( or its equivalent)" requirement of section 214(i)(l )(B) 
of the Act provided the specialties are closely related such that they constitute a common specialty 
required to perform the duties of the position. If they constitute a common specialty, then the required 
"body of highly specialized knowledge" would essentially be the same. If the required degree fields 
do not constitute a common specialty, a minimum entry requirement of a degree in disparate fields 
would not meet the statutory requirement that the degree be "in the specific specialty ( or its 
equivalent)." A minimum entry requirement that did include disparate fields of study, such as 
philosophy and engineering for example, would require a petitioner to establish how each field is 
directly related to all the duties and responsibilities of the particular position. Section 214(i)(l )(B) of 
the Act ( emphasis added). 
4 
The cases cited by the Petitioner support the requirement of a singular specialty. The court in 
Residential Finance following this rationale found for the Plaintiff only after determining that the 
Plaintiff had established its minimum requirements capture the necessity of a baccalaureate degree in 
a specialized course of study in a field related to the proffered job's duties as a minimum. Residential 
Finance Corporation, 839 F.Supp.2d at 996. In other words, the court in Residential Finance did not 
state that a petitioner can cobble together any mass grouping of degree fields and call it a specialty, as 
the Petitioner seems to imply. To the contrary, the plaintiff in Residential Finance prevailed because 
the court determined that the plaintiff's grouping of degree fields was a specialty. In other words, the 
court found that the plaintiff had satisfied the "specific specialty" requirement. 
The foundational principle leading to the holding in Residential Finance is also present in Raj & Co. 
In Raj & Co., the court stated that a specialty occupation requires the attainment of a bachelor's degree 
or higher in a specific specialty, or its equivalent. The court confirmed that this issue is well-settled 
in case law and with the agency's reasonable interpretation of the regulatory framework. In the 
decision, the court noted that "permitting an occupation to qualify simply by requiring a generalized 
bachelor degree would run contrary to congressional intent to provide a visa program for specialized, 
as opposed to merely educated, workers." And in Relx v. Baran, 397 F.Supp.3d 41 (D.D.C. 2019), 
the court determined that a specialty occupation existed only after determining that the occupation 
required a specialized course of study the plaintiff had earned. Relx, 397 F.Supp.3d at 55. 
The Petitioner also cites to Next Generation Tech., Inc. v. Johnson, 382 F.Supp.3d 252 (S.D.N.Y. 
201 7) as relevant here and uses it to support a conclusion concerning the meaning of what is 
"normally" the minimum requirement for the position. We question the applicability of Next 
Generation Tech., Inc. in the instant matter, as the court in Next Generation Tech., Inc. analyzed our 
reading of the U.S Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook (Handbook) concerning 
the entry requirements for positions located within the different and separate occupational category of 
"Computer Programmers," rather than the "Rehabilitation Counselors" category designated by the 
Petitioner in the LCA relating to this case. And the court in Next Generation Tech., Inc. relied in part 
on a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) policy memorandum specific to "Computer 
Programmers" indicating generally preferential treatment toward computer programmers, and 
"especially" toward companies in that particular petitioner's industry. Moreover, Next Generation 
Tech., Inc. is inapplicable because the Petitioner's mass grouping of psychology, sociology, social 
work, education, or any "related field, or its equivalent" contained on its list of related human services 
fields is not sufficiently narrow to conclude that the Petitioner's requirement comprises a "specialty" 
required to perform the duties of the specialty occupation. Or in other words, when a petitioner would 
accept a bachelor's degree from a wide variety of seemingly unconnected fields, like the range of 
fields the Petitioner presents here, it cannot establish that the fields constitute a "specialty" if it does 
not establish how each accepted and specific field of study is directly related to each another and to 
the duties and responsibilities of the particular position. 
C. The Petitioner's Assertions on Appeal 
The record contains the Department of Labor's O*NET Online and Handbook entry for 
"Rehabilitation Counselors," an expert opinion position analysis, the Beneficiary's educational 
documentation, job postings for purportedly parallel positions with reportedly similar employers, a 
copy of Fed. R. Evid. 703, education documents for others currently employed by the Petitioner, and 
5 
a listing of fields of study that can be categorized as human services2 to support the Petitioner's 
assertion that its proffered position requires a bachelor's degree in a specific field of study comprising 
a body of specialized knowledge or a specialty required to perform the duties of the position. But, as 
we discuss below, the supplemental regulatory criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(])-(4) cannot 
be satisfied without the express requirement of a baccalaureate or higher degree providing the 
theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge. 
The Handbook reports that "rehabilitation counselors typically need a master's degree in rehabilitation 
counseling or a related field" whilst "some employers hire workers with a bachelor's degree in 
rehabilitation and disability studies ... " See Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dep't of Labor, 
Occupational Outlook Handbook, Rehabilitation Counselors, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community­
and-social-service/rehabilitation-counselors.htm (Aug. 29, 2024). The Petitioner states that it requires 
a bachelor's degree, but in a diverse grouping of fields (psychology, sociology, social work, education, 
or a "related field or its equivalent' from a list of "related human services" fields). It is not adequately 
described in the record how the Petitioner's grouping constitutes a specialty akin to the rehabilitation, 
rehabilitation counseling, or disability studies fields listed in Handbook. Nevertheless, we understand 
that the Handbook is only one source that can be used to assist in demonstrating whether a particular 
occupation may be a specialty occupation. The Petitioner may present other sources to establish that 
a specific degree is normally the minimum requirement for entry into the position or may establish 
that its particular position requires a bachelor's level, or other, degree in a specific discipline or fields 
of disciplines constituting a specialty or theoretical or practical body of specialized knowledge 
required to perform the duties of the position. The Petitioner has not submitted sufficient evidence 
regarding its particular position to satisfy the requirements necessary to establish the position is a 
specialty occupation. 
The Petitioner also submits several job postings submitted initially with the petition, in response to the 
Director's RFE, and with this appeal advertising purportedly parallel positions from reportedly similar 
employers. It further asserts that this evidence supports its contention that requirements like those it 
has established for its proffered position are widely held across its industry. The Petitioner asserts on 
appeal that the fact the organizations posting the jobs "offer behavioral health services and/or long­
term and short-term rehabilitative care" is sufficient to demonstrate the organizations' similarity to the 
Petitioner. We do not agree. The job postings the Petitioner submitted do not adequately demonstrate 
that the employers who posted these positions are "similar" to the Petitioner. The advertisements the 
Petitioner submitted were posted by employers ranging from governmental organizations, to religious 
organizations, to private for-profit entities engaged in business operations. The record does not 
adequately describe how these diverse organizations, sharing only a service they offer, are similar to 
one another let alone the Petitioner. The evidence in the record does not provide any context that 
would permit a comparison of the Petitioner to the organizations whose job postings it submitted to 
evaluate their contended similarity. And, even if the organizations were similar, we would not 
conclude that the job postings demonstrate the proffered job is a specialty occupation because the 
minimum educational requirements contained in the advertisements are varied and ranging such that 
they didn't constitute a specialty required to perform the duties of the job. 
2 While we may not discuss every document submitted, we have reviewed and considered each one. 
6 
And the education documentation for others currently employed by the Petitioner does not 
persuasively support the specialty occupation nature of the proffered position. At most, the documents 
indicate the Petitioner's preference for its employees to have a baccalaureate level of education in a 
disparate group of degree fields. It does not demonstrate the Petitioner's requirement of a bachelor's 
degree in a specific specialty, or its equivalent, related to the performance of the position's job duties. 
The record must establish that a petitioner's stated degree requirement is not a matter of preference 
for high-caliber candidates but is necessitated instead by performance requirements of the position. 
See Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88. Were we limited solely to reviewing a petitioner's claimed self­
imposed requirements, an organization could bring any individual with a bachelor's degree to the 
United States to perform any occupation so long as the petitioning entity created a token degree 
requirement. Id. Here, the evidence in the record simply supports the Petitioner's preference for its 
employees to have a baccalaureate level of education. Further, as noted by the Director in his decision, 
the submitted documentation is for individuals that were hired for the assistant program manager 
position rather than the program manager position. The Petitioner did not submit any information on 
appeal to explain this discrepancy and overcome the Director's concern on this issue. 
The record contains an expert opinion to contend that the range of fields the Petitioner requires for the 
habilitation counselor position is not disparate, and that the fields constitute a specialty closely related 
together and with the duties of the position. As a matter of discretion, we may use opinion statements 
submitted by the Petitioner as advisory. Matter of Caron Int'l, Inc., 19 I&N Dec. 791, 795 (Comm'r 
1988). But an opinion statement has less weight where there is cause to question or doubt the opinion, 
or if it is not in accord with other information in the record. The submission of expert opinion letters 
is not presumptive evidence in any event. Id.; see also Matter of V-K-, 24 I&N Dec. 500, 502 n.2 
(BIA, 2008). 
Further, the Petitioner's reliance on Dr. Iopinion to supports its argument that the range of 
fields of study it accepts is closely related is misplaced. Dr. I I evaluation does not provide a 
strong enough basis for us to understand how the wide range of degrees accepted by the Petitioner are 
related to one another to form a body of specialized knowledge. Nor does it show how that body of 
specialized knowledge relates to the duties of the proffered job. 3 We have questions about the 
sufficiency of Dr.I I opinion because their conclusions are not in accord with information in the 
record. For example, Dr I I references their research and published work as authority for their 
opinion but do not specifically identify what research in the record supports their opinion to bolster 
their conclusions. The evaluation is mainly based on unspecified research authority not present or 
described in the record of proceedings. Dr.I Icontends that to perform the habilitation counselor 
duties, a baccalaureate level education in the grouping of degree fields identified by the Petitioner 
would confer the skill to successfully perform the duties. It is apparent from the Petitioner's list that 
the "ability and knowledge" in human development and professional communication, individualized 
social, educational, and psychological knowledge, and participation as a part of a multi-disciplinary 
team is generally available amongst a wide swath of degree fields such that it is more fundamental 
knowledge than specialized knowledge required for the performance of the specific job duties. But 
the opinion does not support how each acceptable field of study is directly related to all the duties and 
responsibilities of the proffered job. 
3 And even if it did, the Petitioner would still be left with the deficiencies discussed earlier. 
7 
Whilst we held in Chawathe that the standard of proof in immigration proceedings is the 
preponderance of the evidence, the burden of proof is always on the petitioner. A petitioner's burden 
of proof comprises both the initial burden of production, as well as the ultimate burden of 
persuasion. Matter ofY-B-, 21 I&N Dec. 1136, 1142 n.3 (BIA 1998); see also the definition ofburden 
of proof from Black's Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) (reflecting the burden of proof includes both 
the burden of production and the burden of persuasion). A petitioner must satisfy the burden of 
production. As the term suggests, this burden requires a filing party to produce evidence in the form 
of documents, testimony, etc. that adheres the governing statutory, regulatory, and policy provisions 
sufficient to have the issue decided on the merits. When, as here, a petitioner has not met the burden 
of persuasion by a preponderance of the evidence because its evidence is not material, relevant, or 
probative it follows that it has not demonstrated eligibility for the benefit that it seeks. So, the 
evaluation is not probative and we decline to assign it any significant evidentiary weight. 
We conclude that the proffered position here is not a specialty occupation because the Petitioner's 
stated range of acceptable degree fields is too broad to constitute a single specialty required to 
accomplish the duties of proffered job. The record of proceedings does not establish that the proffered 
position requires both: (1) the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized 
knowledge; and (2) the attainment of a bachelor's degree in the specific specialty. The Petitioner has 
satisfied neither the statutory definition of a "specialty occupation" at section 214(i)(l )(B) of the Act 
nor the regulatory definition of a specialty occupation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(ii). As the Petitioner 
had not satisfied that threshold requirement, it cannot satisfy any of the supplemental specialty­
occupation criteria enumerated at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(])-(4). The Petitioner has not 
established that the proffered position is a specialty occupation. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons. In visa petition proceedings, it is the 
Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 
8 U.S.C. § 1361. The Petitioner has not met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
8