dismissed H-1B Case: Information Technology

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF B-, INC . 
APPEAL OF VERMONT SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: OCT . 31, 2019 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner , an information technology consulting firm, seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary 
as a "business systems analyst" under the H-lB nonirnmigrant 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 Vermont Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did not 
establish that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation . On appeal, the Petitioner 
provides a brief and additional evidence, and asserts that the Director erred in denying the petition. 
Upon de nova review , we will dismiss the appeal. 1 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
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. 
1 We follow the preponderance of the evidence standard as specified in Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369, 375-76 
(AAO 2010). 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(ii) largely restates this statutory definition, but adds a non­
exhaustive list of fields of endeavor. In addition, the regulations provide that the proffered position 
must meet one of the following criteria to qualify as a specialty occupation: 
(]) 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. 
8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). We construe the term "degree" to mean not just any baccalaureate or 
higher degree, but one in a specific specialty that is directly related to the proposed position. See Royal 
Siam Corp. v. Chertoff, 484 F.3d 139, 147 (1st Cir. 2007) (describing "a degree requirement in a 
specific specialty" as "one that relates directly to the duties and responsibilities of a particular 
position"); Defensor v. Meissner, 201 F.3d 384, 387 (5th Cir. 2000). 
As recognized by the court in Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88, where the work is to be performed for 
entities other than the petitioner, evidence of the client companies' job requirements is critical. The 
court held that the former Immigration and Naturalization Service had reasonably interpreted the 
statute and regulations as requiring the petitioner to produce evidence that a proffered position 
qualifies as a specialty occupation on the basis of the requirements imposed by the entities using the 
beneficiary's services. Id. Such evidence must be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate the type and 
educational level of highly specialized knowledge in a specific discipline that is necessary to perform 
that particular work. 
II. PROFFERED POSITION 
The Petitioner indicated that it will assign the Beneficiary through a mid-vendor to work as a "business 
systems analyst" for an end-client for the duration of the validity period requested. 2 The Petitioner 
designated the proffered position under the occupational category "Management Analysts" 
corresponding to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 13-1111, at a Level II wage on 
the labor condition application (LCA)3 submitted in support of the H-lB petition. Within these 
2 The Petitioner most recently employed the Beneficiary through post-completion optional practical training, and has 
provided copies of wage statements for his employment with the Petitioner. 8 C.F.R. §§ 274a.12(c)(3)(i)(B), 
214.2(t)(l 0)(ii)(A)(3). 
3 A petitioner submits the LCA to the U.S. Department of Labor to demonstrate that it will pay an H-1 B worker the higher of 
2 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
proceedings, the Petitioner has submitted varying descriptions of the duties of the proffered position. 4 
For instance, the Petitioner provided a set of duties consisting of 11 items when it filed the petition. 
In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), it submitted an expanded list of job 
responsibilities, as follows (verbatim): 5 
• Analysis and Facilitation (55%) 
• Conducts and drive JAD session to gather and refine business, technical, and 
graphical user requirements and Partner with product manager, customers and 
stakeholders to understand business needs and translates into requirements and 
document user stories. 
• Work closely with Product Owners, Subject Matter Experts and Stakeholders 
to understand business needs; translate into requirements and document user 
stories in JIRA. 
• Identify, assess and solve complex business problems pertaining to .... l __ __, 
application for LTSS (Long term services & support), and NICU (Neo-natal 
Care Unit) by analyzing the new and existing requirements and performing 
impact analysis to identify bottlenecks upfront in order to get accurate 
estimation of the work required. 
• Coordinate with scrum teams on the NIMUS train working on the same product 
to identify and resolve dependencies and establish acceptance criteria to 
confirm capability delivery meets criteria. 
• Collaborate with product managers to prioritize the product features and 
developing delivery schedule using Agile Project Management Framework for 
faster and sustained delivery of the product features. 
• Create workflow diagrams, use cases using MS Visio to depict the business 
process which helps understanding complex business processes. 
• Validate and demonstrates the features delivered in each sprint to the Business 
Stakeholders and Users to keep them abreast with the latest changes and 
developments and to gather their feedback. 
• Act as a liaison between users of the software and the production support teams 
to address questions/issues, by performing root cause analysis and formulating 
a solution. 
either the prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the area of employment or the actual wage paid by the employer 
to other employees with similar duties. experience, and qualifications. Section 212(n)(l) of the Act; 20 C.F.R. § 655.73l(a). 
4 We acknowledge that the Petitioner submitted additional information for the job duties, and have closely considered and 
reviewed this material, as with all evidence in the record. For instance, the Petitioner also included a listing of the 
Beneficiary's previous coursework for the purpose of correlating the need for the Beneficiary's education with the 
associated job duties of the position. However, we are required to follow long-standing legal standards and determine 
first, whether the proffered position qualifies for classification as a specialty occupation, and second, whether the 
Beneficiary was qualified for the position at the time the nonimmigrant visa petition was filed. Cf Matter of Michael 
Hertz Assocs., 19 T&N Dec. 558, 560 (Comm'r 1988) ("The facts of a beneficiary's background only come at issue after 
it is found that the position in which the petitioner intends to employ him falls within [ a specialty occupation]."). 
5 Also within the RFE, the Petitioner provided letters from the mid-vendor and the end-client which reiterate the various duties 
presented by the Petitioner. 
3 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
• Identifying Non Functional requirements related to technical aspects such as 
regulatory constraints, HIP AA/PHI and improving key performance indicators 
for a better user experience. 
• Test for newly developed functionality to ensure they are aligned with the 
expected system behavior using selenium tool and present the newly developed 
functionalities to SMEs to gather their feedback and so that system can be 
improved. 
• Perform Internal quality assessment and actively supports System Integration 
Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) as part of client 
implementation readiness to ensure all business requirements are met, tested 
and signed off. 
• Stay up to date with the latest technologies/practices and project management 
methodologies for software development. 
• Design and Development (30%) 
• Define alterations necessary in the existing API web services to ensure accurate 
information is drawn from various source systems and is represented in the UI 
in an optimal manner. 
• Construct and maintain communication channels through SOAP and REST 
integration between the front end, middleware and backend layers, and run 
queries in Microsoft SQL developer to provide test data for developers/testers 
to ensure they have the right data to work on specific test scenarios. 
• Work closely with the System Oriented Architecture (SOA) team to define and 
create end to end mapping for the requirements between GBD Facets, and 
downstream applications like LTSS and NICU. 
• Participate in the design session every sprint with developers and testers to 
ensure the design is correct before the development effort begins this helps 
preventing unnecessary defects and application breakdowns. 
• Write SQL queries to examine, create and provide data for developers to ensure 
they have accurate information to work on a specific LOB and Health Plan 
enhancements and defects. 
• Create detailed Mockup/wireframes using balsamiq Screens with explanatory 
remarks for a richer visual presentation, used as a reference while development 
and after the code goes into production. 
• Prepare Process Flow diagrams to keep the organization updated with the latest 
developments as well as explain the requirements and user stories to the 
developing and testing team. 
• Create data dictionary and data mapping for I I LTSS, NICU 
applications to identify domain model and the various SOAP and REST web 
services as well as the Stored Procedures and the SQL table columns, which is 
used by the ETL jobs for data repository. 
• Create Feature File- Given/ when/ then test scenarios in Gherkin Language for 
assisting Test Automation. 
4 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
• Conduct unit tests and post-test execution, remedy defects found in the code to 
improve, fix, enhance or optimize the function during all phases of the SDLC 
to ensure they are aligned with the expected system behavior using selenium 
tool. 
• Support Go-Live and Production Code Development activities like user role 
setup and environment configuration to ensure the smooth and successful 
completion of Business Checkout. 
• Documentation & Communication (15%) 
• Document the requirements as user stories and maintain them in JIRA which 
helps tracking the issues and visibility across multiple team which helps 
managing the project and satisfying business needs. 
• Leverage methods such as models and flow diagrams used to elaborate on how 
the system should behave to assist in the programming implementation need for 
the applications. 
• Communicate with supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in 
written form, e-mail, or in person to ensure collaborative work environment 
culture is adhered to and to extrapolate or share ideas. 
• Per the Agile Scrum Framework, participate in daily stand-up with the scrum 
team identifying what's done, what's being worked on, and to raise roadblocks. 
• Contribute analysis, elaboration, estimation, quality criteria, and definition of 
done expertise during Scrum ceremonies/meetings per the Scrum Framework. 
• Driving new application release launches including working with training team, 
business, and other team members. 
III. ANALYSIS 
For the reasons set out below, we determine that the proffered position does not qualify as a specialty 
occupation. Specifically, the record provides inconsistent and insufficient information regarding the 
proffered position, which in tum precludes us from understanding the position's substantive nature 
and determining whether the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 6 
To begin with, we conclude that the Petitioner has not sufficiently established the Beneficiary's offsite 
employment at the end-client location for the period of intended H-1 B employment. The Petitioner, 
located in New Jersey, intends to assign the Beneficiary through a mid-vendor for an end-client, in 
Virginia. The Petitioner initially provided documents to substantiate the Beneficiary's work 
assignment, including the mid-vendor's July 2017 master services agreement (MSA) with the 
Petitioner which noted among other things that: 
From time to time, on an as needed basis, [the Petitioner] agrees to provide such 
information technology services as are identified to [the Petitioner] by [the mid-
6 The Petitioner submitted documentation to support the H- IB petition, including evidence regarding the proffered position 
and its business operations. While we may not discuss every document submitted, we have reviewed and considered each 
one. 
5 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
vendor]. Such services shall be provided directly to the Client. .. Such services, and 
Personnel, if any, shall be described in greater detail on Purchase Orders to be attached 
hereto from time to time in the form of Exhibit A ("the Purchase Order.") 
The initially submitted mid-vendor letter stated that it "has contracted the services of [the Beneficiary] 
from [the Petitioner]," and indicated that the Beneficiary "has been assigned to work as a Business 
Systems Analyst in support of the [ end-client, at the end-client location], as per the [MSA] between 
[the mid-vendor] and [the end-client] valid through August 26, 2021." The mid-vendor also stated 
"the project he is working on is ongoing and with a foreseeable future with renewal potential at the 
end of the contract term." 
Notably, the Director requested the contractual documentation between the parties for the 
Beneficiary's employment at the end-client location in her RFE. In response, the Petitioner provided 
the first and last page of a 38 page August 2015 master services agreement (MSA) between the mid­
vendor and the end-client. The MSA is an agreement for the mid-vendor to provide "deliverables 
[meaning] tangible or intangible items produced by [the mid-vendor] for [the end-client] pursuant to 
a Statement of Work [SOW]. .. " The Petitioner also provided the first and last page of a January 2018 
amendment to the August 2015 MSA. However, this material did not describe the "deliverables" to 
be provided by the mid-vendor to the end-client. 7 Further, the Petitioner did not submit a SOW from 
the end-client for the Beneficiary's assignment, which the MSA referenced as the document that would 
identify the "deliverables" to be provided thereunder. Rather, the Petitioner provided other material 
such as a copy of the previously submitted first and last pages of the mid-vendor's January 2018 MSA 
amendment with the Petitioner under "Exhibit 3: Statement of Work from [ the end-client]" within the 
RFE response. 
The Petitioner did provide a purchase order from the mid-vendor for the Beneficiary's placement at 
the end-client location, which identifies the Beneficiary and the mid-vendor, the position job title, an 
assignment start date of August 201 7 and end date of December 2017, and notes "with [a] possibility 
of extension, subject to written approval." We also acknowledge that the record includes letters from 
the mid-vendor and the end-client which discuss the Beneficiary's assignment with the end-client. 
The July 2018 end-client letter states that the Beneficiary's previous SOW was valid from April 2017 
to June 2018, and the current sow is valid from February 2018 through December 2018 "with a 
probable extension." The end-client's December 2018 letter provided on appeal indicates that the 
Beneficiary is currently working on a SOW valid through December 2019. Though requested by the 
Director, the Petitioner did not submit SOWs, purchase orders, or other contractual material specific 
to the Beneficiary's assignment from the end-client. 8 
7 We conclude the Petitioner's submission of just the first and last pages of the end-client's MSA and the amendment to 
the MSA diminishes its evidentiary value, as it deprives us of the remaining portions that may reveal information either 
advantageous or detrimental to the petitioning organization's claims, and therefore, is oflittle probative value. It is the 
Petitioner's burden to prove by a preponderance of evidence that it is qualified for the benefit sought. Matter of Chawathe, 
25 I&N Dec. at 376. In evaluating the evidence, eligibility is to be determined not by the quantity of evidence alone but 
by its quality. Id. 
8 "Failure to submit requested evidence which precludes a material line of inquiry shall be grounds for denying the 
[petition]." 8 C.F.R. ~ 103.2(6)(14). 
6 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
Considering this material collectively, we conclude there is insufficient evidence of an obligation on 
the part of the end-client to provide work for the Beneficiary, let alone work of specialty occupation 
caliber for the requested validity period. In other words, the evidence of record is currently insufficient 
to establish the terms and conditions of the proffered position at the end-client location. 9 It is the 
Petitioner's burden to prove by a preponderance of evidence that it is qualified for the benefit sought. 
Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N Dec. at 376. Here, the documentation provided is not probative towards 
establishing the terms and conditions of the Beneficiary's assignment as imposed by the end-client. 
See Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88 (where the work is to be performed for entities other than the 
petitioner, evidence of the client companies' job requirements is critical). 
Moreover, a crucial aspect of this matter is whether the duties of the proffered position are described 
in such a way that we may discern the actual, substantive nature of the position. As noted, the record 
lacks sufficient evidence to substantiate the Beneficiary's assignment as represented by the Petitioner. 
Again, when a beneficiary will perform the work for entities other than the petitioner, evidence of the 
client companies' job requirements is critical. Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88. When determining 
whether a position is a specialty occupation, we look at the nature of the business offering the 
employment and the description of the specific duties of the position as it relates to the performance 
of those duties within the context of that particular employer's business operations. 
On a fundamental level, we conclude that the Petitioner has not provided consistent and sufficient 
evidence about the end-client's projects that the Beneficiary will provide services for at the end-client 
location. The Petitioner initially stated that "the Beneficiary will provide technical services on the 
project for the [end-client]." The Director requested an explanation of how the Beneficiary's specific 
job duties relate to the Petitioner's and the end-client's products and services in her RFE. In response 
to the RFE, the Petitioner provided a letter, which described the end-client's project as follows: 
While performin[ servicT as a contractor for [the enlclient], [the] Beneficiary will be 
assigned to the project. Project was formed to create the next 
generation care management platform for [the end-client] and its partners and 
customers. [The end-client] has a number of existing software assets in its portfolio 
that arel integratr into its current generation care management platform. The intent of 
Project is to mine/leverage [the end-client's] current platforms and assets to 
create new ones based on current trends in the health care industry. In addition, this 
next generation platform aims to create a flexible, expandable product that can grow 
and change as [the end-client] and its customer's needs change while minimizing the 
need to rewrite large sections of the code and while minimizing the overall cost of 
change. 
Project I I will be utilizing Agile Lifecycle Management methodology, in order 
to deliver usable software in the least amount of time and to gain as much visibility and 
9 A petitioner must establish eligibility at the time of filing the petition. See 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(l). The agency made 
clear long ago that speculative employment is not permitted in the H-lB program. See, e.g..63 Fed. Reg. 30,419, 30,419-
20 (June 4, 1998). 
7 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
impact within the organization as possible. As [the end-client's] MCM solutions team 
is transitioning to a product team, it is expected that this approach will also give the 
broader MCM team, such as the Professional Services Organization and the Business 
Development team, as much time as possible to become experts with the new platform 
and use it to create a positive impact with customers. 
While this narrative gives a high level description about an "in-house" development project at the end­
client location, the record does not sufficiently substantiate the nature of this project, and the 
Beneficiary's role therein. For instance, though the Petitioner provided letters from the end-client, the 
letters are inadequate to establish the substantive nature of the work to be performed and a necessary 
correlation between the proffered position and a need for a particular level of education, or its 
equivalent, in a body of highly specialized knowledge in a specific specialty. For instance, the 
December 2018 end-client letter identifies the Beneficiary's job title as "Sr. Systems Analyst," 
reiterates portions of the Petitioner's previously submitted position descriptions, and references the 
various SOW s that the Beneficiary has worked under with titles such as "[SOW] MCM Intake 
Solutions - Pega Robotics Implementation," and "[SOW] Pega Facets Upgrade Support." However, 
the end-client does not further reference or describe any of the projects to which the Beneficiary is to 
be assigned. Here, the record contains insufficient supporting documentation that identifies the scope, 
duration, and magnitude of the end-client's projects, to establish the substantive nature of the 
Beneficiary's role therein. 10 To further illustrate, the Petitioner emphasized throughout the 
proceedings that the Beneficiary will coordinate, liaise or interact with various end-client personnel 
and stakeholder groups, including: 
• Conduct[] and drive JAD session to gather and refine business, technical, and 
graphical user requirements and Partner with product manager, customers and 
stakeholders to understand business needs and translates into requirements and 
document user stories. 
• Work closely with the System Oriented Architecture (SOA) team to define and 
create end to end mapping for the requirements between GBD Facets ... 
• Driving new application release launches including working with training team, 
business, and other team members. 
• Collaborate with product managers to prioritize the product features and developing 
delivery schedule using Agile Project Management Framework for faster and 
sustained delivery of the product features. 
• Act as a liaison between users of the software and the production support teams to 
address questions/issues, by performing root cause analysis and formulating a 
solution. 
Though the Petitioner described the job duties of the position, the evidence does not show the 
operational structure within this initiative in a manner that would establish the Beneficiary's role. 
While the Director in the RFE requested organization charts that would delineate the Petitioner's and 
the end-client's organization, and staffing hierarchy (including the job titles of the positions that the 
Beneficiary will manage in the proffered position, and the job title of the individual he will report to), 
the Petitioner did not sufficiently address this aspect. In its RFE response, the Petitioner provided 
10 Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88. 
8 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
material which indicates that the Beneficiary reports to its vice president of training and development. 
The organization chart shows various positions, including this vice president's position with a 
downward arrow pointing to a box entitled "employees," which lends little insight into the proffered 
position's placement within the Petitioner's organizational hierarchy. Further, the Petitioner did not 
provide evidence of the end-client's project staffing hierarchy, and sufficient information about what 
the end-client's projects actually entail in order to establish the substantive nature of the Beneficiary's 
role as a "business systems analyst" within the context of this endeavor. Here, the documentation 
provided is not probative towards establishing the terms and conditions of the Beneficiary's 
assignment as imposed by the end-client. See Defensor, 201 F.3d at 387-88. 
Additionally, in determining the nature of a proffered position, the critical element is not the title of 
the position, but the duties of the underlying position. As part of our analysis, we review the duties of 
the proffered position to assess the duties and determine whether the described duties correspond to 
the duties and tasks listed in the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) Summary Report for 
the occupation designated in the LCA. In this case the Petitioner submitted an LCA for the 
"Management Analysts" occupational category corresponding to the Standard Occupational 
classification (SOC) code 13-1111. 11 The U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational Outlook 
Handbook (Handbook) states that "Management Analysts" typically: 12 
• Gather and organize information about the problem to be solved or the procedure 
to be improved 
11 The O*NET Summary Report for positions located within the "Management Analysts" occupational category lists the 
following duties: 
• Document findings of study and prepare recommendations for implementation of new systems, 
procedures, or organizational changes. 
• Interview personnel and conduct on-site observation to ascertain unit functions, work performed, and 
methods, equipment, and personnel used. 
• Analyze data gathered and develop solutions or alternative methods of proceeding. 
• Plan study of work problems and procedures, such as organizational change, communications, 
information flow, integrated production methods, inventory control, or cost analysis. 
• Confer with personnel concerned to ensure successful functioning of newly implemented systems or 
procedures. 
• Gather and organize information on problems or procedures. 
• Prepare manuals and train workers in use of new forms, reports, procedures or equipment, according to 
organizational policy. 
• Review forms and reports and confer with management and users about format, distribution, and 
purpose, identifying problems and improvements. 
• Develop and implement records management program for filing, protection, and retrieval of records, and 
assure compliance with program. 
• Design. evaluate, recommend, and approve changes of forms and reports. 
The O*NET Summary Report for "Management Analysts," may be viewed at https://www.onetonline.org 
/link/summary/13-1 I I I (last visited Sep. 26, 2019). 
12 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dep't of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Management Analysts, 
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/management-analysts.htm#tab-2 (last visited Sep. 26, 2019). All of our 
references to the Handbook may be accessed at the Internet site http://www.bls.gov/ooh/. We do not maintain that the 
Handbook is the exclusive source of relevant information. 
9 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
• Interview personnel and conduct onsite observations to determine the methods, 
equipment, and personnel that will be needed 
• Analyze financial and other data, including revenue, expenditure, and employment 
reports 
• Develop solutions or alternative practices 
• Recommend new systems, procedures, or organizational changes 
• Make recommendations to management through presentations or written reports 
• Confer with managers to ensure changes are working 
Despite the Petitioner's categorization of the proffered position as a "Management Analyst," the 
record does not sufficiently establish that the duties of the position sufficiently correspond to the 
occupational category. For example, the material in the record indicates that the Beneficiary will: 
• Identify, assess and solve complex business problems pertaining to .... I __ ___. 
application for LTSS (Long term services & support), and NICU (Neo-natal 
Care Unit) by analyzing the new and existing requirements and performing 
impact analysis to identify bottlenecks upfront in order to get accurate 
estimation of the work required. 
• Coordinate with scrum teams on the I I train working on the same product 
to identify and resolve dependencies and establish acceptance criteria to 
confirm capability delivery meets criteria. 
• Validate and demonstrates the features delivered in each sprint to the Business 
Stakeholders and Users to keep them abreast with the latest changes and 
developments and to gather their feedback. 
• Construct and maintain communication channels through SOAP and REST 
integration between the front end, middleware and backend layers, and run 
queries in Microsoft SQL developer to provide test data for developers/testers 
to ensure they have the right data to work on specific test scenarios. 
• Conduct unit tests and post-test execution, remedy defects found in the code to 
improve, fix, enhance or optimize the function during all phases of the SDLC 
to ensure they are aligned with the expected system behavior using selenium 
tool. 
• Define alterations necessary in the existing API web services to ensure accurate 
information is drawn from various source systems and is represented in the UI 
in an optimal manner. 
Additionally, the Petitioner provided copies of the Beneficiary's project status reports, which indicate 
that he routinely performed duties, such as "[ w ]orking with ETL developer to identify which attributes 
are required from various web services (APis)," "[c]reating transformation logic that will be required 
before migrating data from upstream application to downstream application," "[t]esting and closing 
the Health Chart stories," and"[ s ]cheduling JAD session with the business team to gather requirements 
for the Health Charts." 
While the Petitioner submitted an LCA designating the "Management Analysts" occupational category 
for the proffered position, the Petitioner has not sufficiently established that these position duties and 
10 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
responsibilities are consistent with the occupational category. In other words, the Petitioner has not 
adequately explained how the design, development and testing of system software are closely related 
to the O*NET tasks and the Handbook's duties for the "Management Analysts" occupation. 13 The 
Petitioner must also resolve these inconsistencies and ambiguities with independent, objective 
evidence pointing to where the truth lies. Matter of Ho, 19 I&N Dec. 582, 591-92 (BIA 1988). 
The Petitioner maintains on appeal that it "correctly used the [Management Analysts] SOC Code 13-
1111 based on the job duties for the proffered position." However, we are not persuaded by the 
Petitioner's submission. Based on the position descriptions and other material in the record, it appears 
that the position, as described, is more akin in large part, to a software developer position rather than 
a management analyst position. To illustrate, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Occupational 
Outlook Handbook (Handbook) chapter for "Software Developers" indicates that they typically do the 
following: 14 
• Analyze users' needs and then design, test, and develop software to meet those 
needs. 
• Recommend software upgrades for customers' existing programs and systems. 
• Design each piece of an application or system and plan how the pieces will work 
together. 
• Create a variety of models and diagrams ( such as flowcharts) that show 
programmers the software code needed for an application. 
• Ensure that a program continues to function normally through software 
maintenance and testing. 
• Document every aspect of an application or system as a reference for future 
maintenance and upgrades. 
• Collaborate with other computer specialists to create optimum software. 
In considering the evidence in its totality, we conclude that the Petitioner has provided inconsistent 
evidence regarding whether the proffered position properly falls within the "Management Analysts" 
occupational category, or within one of the "Software Developers" occupational categories (i.e., the 
occupational category for "Software Developers, Applications" under SOC 15-1132, or the 
occupational category for "Software Developers, Systems Software" under SOC 15-1133). 15 We note 
that both of these "Software Developers" occupational categories have higher prevailing wages than 
for the "Management Analysts" occupational category. 16 Thus, if the Petitioner's duties for the 
13 See 20 C.F.R. § 655.705(6). 
14 Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Dep't of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Software Developers. 
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm#tab-2 (last visited Sep. 26, 2019). 
15 The O*NET position summaries for these occupational categories may be viewed at 
https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/l 5-l 132.00; https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/l 5-l 133.00 (last visited 
Oct. 31, 2019.) 
16 For instance, the prevailing wage in the area and time period of intended employment for "Software Developers, 
Applications" is $80,371 per year, and for "Software Developers, Systems Software" is $86,528 per year. The prevailing wage 
for "Management Analysts" as stipulated on the instant LCA in the area and time period of intended employment is $73,278 
per year. For more information on prevailing wages generally, see the FLC Data Center at 
http://www.tlcdatacenter.com/OESWizardStart.aspx (last visited Oct. 31, 2019). 
11 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
pos1t10n fall under more than one occupational category, it should have chosen the relevant 
occupational code for the highest paying occupation, which was not "Management Analysts." 17 As 
the Petitioner indicates that it will pay the Beneficiary $75,000, a rate significantly less than the 
prevailing wage for the "Software Developers" occupational categories, the Petitioner has not 
established that LCA corresponds to the petition, including the occupational category certified 
therein. 18 
Moreover, the Petitioner has provided conflicting information regarding requirements for the proffered 
position. The Petitioner initially stated that it required "a minimum of a bachelor's degree or its 
equivalent in a field related to the proffered position." It also provided a mid-vendor letter which 
observed that the position requires "a Bachelor's degree or equivalent in computer science, 
Information Technology, management information systems, or related area." In response to the 
Director's RFE, the Petitioner submitted material that provided a diverse range of requirements for the 
proffered position, including: 
• The Petitioner's August 2018 letter which states that the position "would normally 
require the minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Project 
Management, or a related area," then within the same document alternatively 
specified that it normally required "a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration 
with concentration in Information Systems, or related area." 
• The Petitioner's June 2017 Business Systems Analyst job announcement which 
required "a minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Computer 
Engineering, Computer Information Systems or a closely related field. The job 
notice further indicated extensive experience requirements, to include "3+ years' 
system implementation required," and "2+ years' Microsoft Dynamics AX" and 
"3+ years' experience [ with various technologies]" preferred. 
• An opinion letter froml I an associate dean of academic 
affairs,! !University of I I, in which he opines that "a 
minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Project Management, 
or a related area" is required for the proffered position. 
On appeal, the Petitioner presents a new letter from the end-client that states "we received written 
confirmation from the Petitioner that [the Beneficiary's] role itself requires at least a bachelor's degree in 
Computer Science or a similar field which provides the technical competence necessary to perform the 
work," which the Petitioner asserts "confirms the minimum requirements to perform the duties of the 
position." That the Petitioner supplied these position requirements to the end-client and for inclusion in 
the end-client's letter erodes the probative nature of this docurnent.19 
The Petitioner also references I I' requirements as "a Bachelor's Degree in Business 
Administration with a concentration in Information Systems, or a related field," and contended "[t]he 
record of this proceeding does not include anything to contradict I t position requirements] 
17 See U.S. Dep't of Labor. Emp't & Training Admin., Prevailing Wage Determination Policy Guidance, Nonagric. 
Immigration Programs (rev. Nov. 2009). available at http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdt!'NPWHC _ Guidance_ Revised 
_ 11 _ 2009 .pdf. 
18 See Section 212(n)(l) of the Act; 20 C.F.R. § 655.73 l(a). 
19 MatterofChawathe, 25 l&NDec. at 376. 
12 
Matter of B-, Inc. 
to successfully perform the duties [ of the proffered position]." Notably, I I' put forth different 
requirements in his letter, ( e.g., a bachelor's degree in information technology, project management, or 
a related area). Nonetheless, the Petitioner does not explain whyl t position requirements 
differ from the wide array of position requirements that the Petitioner contemporaneously put forth, nor 
does it explain the reasons for the variances in the position requirements within the material in the 
record. 20 The Petitioner must resolve these inconsistencies with independent, objective evidence 
pointing to where the truth lies. Matter of Ho, Dec. 591-92. Unresolved material inconsistencies may 
lead us to reevaluate the reliability and sufficiency of other evidence submitted in support of the 
requested immigration benefit. Id. 
Without sufficient and consistent evidence of the Beneficiary's duties in relation to specific end­
client's project( s ), and of the minimum requirements necessary to perform the duties of the position, 
the Petitioner has not established the substantive nature of the work to be performed by the 
Beneficiary, which therefore precludes a conclusion that the proffered position satisfies any criterion 
at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), because it is the substantive nature of that work that determines (1) the 
normal minimum educational requirement for entry into the particular position, which is the focus of 
criterion 1; (2) industry positions which are parallel to the proffered position and thus appropriate for 
review for a common degree requirement, under the first alternate prong of criterion 2; (3) the level of 
complexity or uniqueness of the proffered position, which is the focus of the second alternate prong of 
criterion 2; (4) the factual justification for a petitioner normally requiring a degree or its equivalent, when 
that is an issue under criterion 3; and ( 5) the degree of specialization and complexity of the specific duties, 
which is the focus of criterion 4. 21 
IV. CONCLUSION 
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. 
Cite as Matter of B-, Inc., ID# 4994929 (AAO Oct. 31, 2019) 
20 Notably, I I also does not address the variances between the minimum requirements for the position as 
stipulated by the Petitioner. the end-client, and the mid-vendor relative to his own conclusions regarding the position 
requirements. Therefore, we findl ~ opinion letter lends little probative value to the matter here. Matter of 
Caron Int'!, 19 I&N Dec. 791, 795 (Comm'r 1988) (The service is not required to accept or may give less weight to an 
advisory opinion when it is "not in accord with other information or is in any way questionable."). For the sake of brevity, 
we will not address other deficiencies within the professor's analyses of the proffered position. 
21 As the lack of probative and consistent evidence in the record precludes a conclusion that the proffered position is a 
specialty occupation and is dispositive of the appeal, we will not fiuiher discuss the Petitioner's assertions on appeal 
regarding the criteria under 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
13