dismissed H-1B Case: Management

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave.. N.W.. Rm. A.3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: WAC 04 038 50666 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: OCT 0 5 2005 
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. tj 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision of the Administrative Appeals Ofice in your case. All documents have been returned to 
the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that ofice. 
Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 04 038 50666 
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 a retirement care facility for the elderly and seeks to employ the beneficiary as a management 
analyst. The petitioner endeavors to classify the beneficiary as a nonimmigrant worker in a specialty occupation 
pursuant to section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(iXb) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 
5 1 1 0 1 (a)( 1 5)(H)(iXb). 
The director denied the petition because the proffered position did not qualify as a specialty occupation. On 
appeal, counsel submits a brief stating that the offered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
The issue to be discussed in this proceeding is whether the position offered to the beneficiary qualifies as a 
specialty occupation. 
Section I0 1 (a)(l 5)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 
5 1 IOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b), provides, in part, for the classification of qualified nonimmigrant aliens who are 
coming temporarily to the United States to perform services in a specialty occupation. 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 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. 
The term "specialty occupation" is further defined at 8 C.F.R.5 214.2(h)(4)(ii) as: 
[A]n occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly 
specialized knowledge in field 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 enby 
into the occupation in the United States. 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 5 2 14.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), to qualify as a specialty occupation, the position must meet one of 
the following criteria: 
11) 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; 
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(3) The employer normally requires a degree or its equivalent for the position; or 
(4) The nature of the specific duties are 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(h)(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 proceedings 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) the Form I-290B with supporting documentation. The AAO reviewed the 
record in its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The petitioner is seeking the beneficiary's services as a management analyst. Evidence of the beneficiary's 
duties was included with the 1-129 petition and in response to the director's request for evidence. According 
to this evidence the beneficiary would: 
Conduct organizational studies to trim unnecessary expenses and administrative procedures to 
enhance efficiency and profitability; 
Audit the usage of facilities to determine which facilities need to be eliminated or improved: 
Design and implement administrative procedures to eliminate duplicate paperwork and nonessential 
jobs in order to reduce employee workload and reduce costs; 
Interview various departmental managers and employees to collect data and analyze information to 
make recommendations to executive officers for enhancing company efficiency; 
Review annual profit and loss statements to analyze the company's fiscal strengths and weaknesses; 
and 
Investigate departmental operational procedures and analyze client's compliments and complaints to 
improve service to clients. 
The beneficiary requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree in management, business administration or a 
related field for entry into the proffered position. 
Upon review of the record, the petitioner has failed to establish that a baccalaureate or higher degree or its 
equivalent is normally the minimum requirement for entry into the offered position, or that a degree 
requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. Factors often 
considered by CIS when determining these criteria include: whether the Department of Labor's Occupational 
Outlook Handbook (Handbook), reports that the industry requires a degree; whether an industry professional 
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association has made a degree a minimum entry requirement; and whether letters or affidavits frorn firms 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 1 1 5 1, 1 165 (D. Minn. 1999) (quoting Hird/Blaker Corp. v. Sava, 7 12 
F. Supp. 1095, I 102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)). 
The AAO routinely consults the Handbook for information about the duties and educational requirements of 
particular occupations. The duties of the proffered position, though generally described, are managerial in 
nature and normally performed by generalloperations managers in the petitioner's business environment, not 
management analysts. The petitioner would: determine the most efficient use of company facilities; design 
and implement procedures to eliminate duplicate paperwork; review profit and loss statements to assess the 
company's financial position; review departmental operations; and review client comments to improve 
customer service. These are not duties normally performed by management analysts. The Handbook states 
that management analysts are normally employed in the private sector as consultants, not employees of 
companies, and that most analystslconsultants contracted possess a master's degree in business administration 
or a related discipline. Firms providing management analysts range in size from a single practitioner to large 
international organizations employing thousands of consultants. Some analystslconsultants specialize in a 
specific industry, such as healthcare or telecommunications, while others specialize by type of business 
function, such as human resources, marketing, logistics, or information systems. The work to be performed 
will vary with each client and project. 
The Handbook notes that the formal education and experience of generalloperations managers or related 
personnel varies as widely as the nature of their responsibilities. Many have a bachelor's or higher degree in 
business administration or liberal arts, while others obtain their positions by promotion from lower level 
management positions. Thus, it is possible to obtain a position as a general or operations manager without a 
college degree by promotion from within the organization based upon performance alone. It is apparent from 
the Handbook that a baccalaureate or higher degree, in a specific specialty, is not the minimum requirement 
for entry into the offered position. Positions requiring a college degree are filled from a wide range of 
unrelated educational disciplines. A degree in a specific specialty, however, is not required. The petitioner 
has failed to establish the first criterion of 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
The petitioner does not assert that a degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among 
similar organizations, or that it normally requires a degree in a specific specialty for entry into the proffered 
position, and offers no evidence in this regard. The petitioner has failed to establish either of the referenced 
criteria at 8 C.F.R. fj 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2) or (3). 
Finally, the petitioner has not established that the duties of the offered position are so complex or unique that 
they can only be performed by an individual with a degree in a specific specialty, or that the duties are so 
specialized or complex that knowledge required to perform them is usually associated with the attainment of a 
baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. The duties described by the petitioner, though general 
in nature, appear to be routine for generalloperations managers in the petitioner's business environment. As 
such, the petitioner has failed to establish the referenced criteria at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(2) or (4). 
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. 
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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 and the appeal shall accordingly be dismissed. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.