dismissed H-1B Case: Management Analysis

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: WAC 03 15 1 52877 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: XT 3 2805 
IN RE: 
PETITION: Petition for a Nonirnrnigrant Worker Pursuant to Section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1 1 Ol(a)( 15)(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. 
Robert P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 03 15 1 52877 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The director of the California Service Center denied the nonirnmigrant 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 retailer of imported men's clothing, with ten employees. It seeks to employ the beneficiary 
as a management analyst pursuant to section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the 
Act), 8 U.S.C. 3 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). The director denied the petition because he found the beneficiary was 
not qualified to perform the duties of a specialty occupation. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains: (1) Form 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for evidence; (3) counsel's response to the director's request for evidence; (3) the director's 
denial letter; and (4) Form I-290B7 with previously submitted evidence. The AAO reviewed the record in its 
entirety before reaching its decision. 
The only issue before the AAO is whether the beneficiary is qualified to perform the duties of a management 
analyst. In determining whether an alien is qualified to perform the duties of a specialty occupation, 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) looks to the petitioner to establish that the beneficiary meets one 
of the requirements set forth at Section 214(i)(2) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1184(i)(2) -- full state licensure to 
practice in the occupation, if such licensure is required; completion of a degree in the specific specialty; or 
experience in the specialty equivalent to the completion of such degree and recognition of expertise in the 
specialty through progressively responsible positions relating to the specialty. 
The proffered position is that of a management analyst. As management analysts are not licensed, the 
petitioner must, therefore, establish that the beneficiary has the academic credentials necessary for 
employment as a management analyst or experience that is the equivalent of such credentials. To determine 
what academic background prepares individuals to seek employment as management analysts, the AAO turns 
to the discussion of that occupation in the Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook 
(Handbook), the resource on which the AAO routinely relies for information about the educational 
requirements of particular occupations. The Handbook, at page 89, states: 
Educational requirements for entry-level jobs in this field vary widely between private 
industry and government. Most employers in private industry generally seek individuals with 
a master's degree in business administration or a related discipline . . . . 
Accordingly, as the petitioner seeks to employ the beneficiary as a management analyst, it must establish that 
he holds a master's degree or its equivalent in business administration or a related field. 
Specific discussion of how an alien qualifies to perform services in a specialty occupation is found at 8 C.F.R. 
3 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C), and requires the individual to: 
(1) Hold a United States baccalaureate or higher degree required by the specialty occupation 
from an accredited college or university; 
(2) Hold a foreign degree determined to be equivalent to a United States baccalaureate or 
higher degree required by the specialty occupation from an accredited college or 
university; 
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(3) Hold an unrestricted state license, registration or certification which authorizes him or 
her to fully practice the specialty occupation and be immediately engaged in that 
specialty in the state of intended employment; or 
(4) Have education, specialized training, and/or progressively responsible experience that is 
equivalent to completion of a United States baccalaureate or higher degree in the 
specialty occupation, and have recognition of expertise in the specialty through 
progressively responsible positions directly related to the specialty. 
The beneficiary does not possess a U.S. master's degree in business administration or a foreign degree that is the 
equivalent of a U.S. master's degree in this field. Nor, as previously noted, does the proffered position require a 
license or certification. Accordingly, the AAO will review the record before it to determine whether the 
beneficiary's combined education, training and employment experience establish his eligibility to perform the 
duties of a specialty occupation under the fourth and final criterion at 8 C.F. R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C). 
For the purposes of 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C)(4), equivalence to a U.S. baccalaureate or higher degree 
shall mean the achievement of a level of knowledge, competence, and practice in the specialty occupation that 
has been determined to be equal to that of an individual who has a baccalaureate or higher degree in the 
specialty, and shall be determined by one or more of the following requirements at 8 C.F.R. 
5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D): 
(I) An evaluation from an official who has authority to grant college-level credit for 
training and/or experience in the specialty at an accredited college or university which 
has a program for granting such credit based on an individual's training and/or work 
experience; 
(2) The results of recognized college-level equivalency examinations or special credit 
programs, such as the College Level Examination Program (CLEF'), or Program on 
Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction (PONSI); 
(3) An evaluation of education by a reliable credentials evaluation service which specializes 
in evaluating foreign educational credentials; 
(4) Evidence of certification or registration from a nationally-recognized professional 
association or society for the specialty that is known to grant certification or registration 
to persons in the occupational specialty who have achieved a certain level of 
competence in the specialty; 
(5) A determination by the Service that the equivalent of the degree required by the 
specialty occupation has been acquired through a combination of education, 
specialized training, andlor work experience in areas related to the specialty and that 
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the alien has achieved recognition of expertise in the specialty occupation as a result 
of such training and experience. 
On appeal, counsel resubmits an evaluation of the beneficiary's academic and employment history that was 
initially provided at the time of filing. Counsel contends that the evaluation, prepared by a professor of 
information systems and management at Seattle Pacific University, establishes the beneficiary as qualified to 
perform the duties of the proffered position. The AAO does not agree. 
At the time of filing, the petitioner submitted an evaluation of the beneficiary's academic and employment 
history, prepared by the Foundation for International Services (FIS), Inc. in Bothell, Washington. The FIS 
report stated that the beneficiary's degree from the Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI) Colleges in Manila 
was the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor of science degree and, when combined with his work experience, 
provided him with the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree in business administration. For its conclusions 
regarding the academic equivalency generated by the beneficiary's employment history, the FIS report cited 
the expert opinion of the Seattle Pacific University professor noted above. 
The AAO will accept the HS evaluation of the beneficiary's degree in customs administration as the 
equivalent of a U.S. baccalaureate degree. However, its statements regarding the academic equivalency of the 
beneficiary's work experience will be discounted. A credentials evaluation service may only evaluate an 
alien's foreign academic credentials. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(3). As a result, the AAO will not accept 
LlS7 conclusions related to an analysis of the beneficiary's employment history. An evaluation by a 
credentials evaluation organization serves CIS as an advisory opinion only. Where an evaluation is in any 
way questionable, the AAO may discount it or give it less weight. Matter of Sea, Znc., 19 I&N Dec. 817 
(Cornrn. 1988). While the FIS evaluation establishes that the beneficiary holds the equivalent of a U.S. 
baccalaureate degree, it is not a degree at the master's level or in a field directly related to the specialty. 
Accordingly, it cannot establish the beneficiary as qualified to perform the duties of a management analyst. 
The AAO now turns to the evaluation on which the FIS report relied for its conclusions concerning the 
academic equivalency of the beneficiary's employment experience - the expert opinion provided by the 
Seattle Pacific University professor. 
The professor asserts that he is qualified to evaluate the beneficiary's academic and work experience based on 
his extensive academic and professional experience. His stated expertise is supported by a letter from Seattle 
Pacific's associate provost and dean of graduate studies, which indicates that the university's professors have 
the authority to grant college level credit for training and experience, and are considered appropriate 
evaluators of academic and professional credentials and work experience for the purposes of admissions, 
advising, placement in degree programs, substitutions of courses, judgments on petitions, assessments of 
internship and other routine university evaluations. However, neither the professor, nor the provost, indicates 
that Seattle Pacific University has a program for granting academic credit based on training or work 
experience.* 
* The Seattle Pacific University website does not indicate that the university, or the department, has a 
program, for granting such credit. 
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Pursuant to the requirements at 8 C.F.R. S, 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(I), an evaluation of a beneficiary's employment 
experience must come from an official who has the authority to grant college-level credit for that experience 
at an accredited college or university which has a program for granting such credit. As the record contains no 
evidence that Seattle Pacific University has such a program, the AAO will not accept the professor's 
evaluation of the beneficiary's combined academic and employment experience as the equivalent of a 
baccalaureate degree in business administration. The AAO notes, however, that even if the professor's 
evaluation were accepted as evidence, its conclusion, that the beneficiary holds the equivalent of a 
baccalaureate degree in business administration, would not establish the beneficiary as qualified to perform 
the duties of the proffered position, which requires a degree in business administration at the master's level. 
As the petitioner has failed to establish the beneficiary as qualified to perform the duties of the proffered 
position under any of the first four criteria at 8 C.F.R. S, 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D), the AAO now turns to an 
evaluation of the beneficiary's background under the fifth criterion - a determination by CIS that the 
equivalent of a degree required by the specialty occupation has been acquired through a combination of 
education, specialized training, and/or work experience in areas related to the specialty and that the alien has 
achieved recognition of expertise in the specialty occupation as a result of such training and experience. 
When evaluating a beneficiary's qualifications under the fifth criterion, CIS considers three years of 
specialized training and/or work experience to be the equivalent of one year of college-level training. To 
establish equivalence to an advanced or master's degree, the beneficiary must have a baccalaureate degree 
followed by at least five years of experience in the specialty. The record must also establish that the 
beneficiary's training and/or work experience has included the theoretical and practical application of the 
specialized knowledge required by the specialty occupation, that this experience was gained while working 
with peers, supervisors, or subordinates who have degrees or the equivalent in the specialty occupation and 
that the beneficiary's expertise in the specialty has been recognized, as evidenced by one of the following: 
recognition of expertise in the specialty occupation by at least two recognized authorities in the same 
specialty occupation; membership in a recognized foreign or U.S. association or society in the specialty 
occupation; published material by or about the alien in professional publications, trade journals, books or 
major newspapers; licensure or registration to practice the specialty in a foreign country; or achievements 
which a recognized authority has determined to be significant contributions to the field of the specialty 
occupation. 
At the time of filing, the petitioner submitted documentation of the petitioner's degree in customs 
administration from the PMI Colleges, along with his academic transcripts; a copy of the beneficiary's resume 
outlining his work experience from October 1984 to the present; and a copy of a letter from his current 
employer confirming his employment. While this documentation is relevant to these proceedings, the AAO 
does not find it to satisfy the requirements of the fifth criterion. 
As previously noted, the academic records submitted by the petitioner indicate that the beneficiary was 
awarded a degree in customs administration, which the FIS has found to be the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor 
of science degree, but not in a field directly related to the proffered position. Therefore, the AAO has 
considered whether the record before it offers evidence that the beneficiary's employment history, when 
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combined with his degree in customs administration, would provide him with the equivalent of a master's 
degree in business administration. 
In reaching its decision, the AAO has taken note of the evaluation of the beneficiary's work history provided 
by the Seattle Pacific University professor. However, it will discount the professor's conclusions regarding 
the beneficiary's employment history. 
With the exception of the letter from the beneficiary's current employer, confirming the length of his 
employment, the record contains no independent documentation of the beneficiary's work history. To reach 
his conclusions, the professor's evaluation appears to have relied solely on the beneficiary's resume and his 
limited descriptions of the work he has performed since 1984. Accordingly, the professor's evaluation is of 
little evidentiary value for the purposes of these proceedings. The AAO relies on expert evaluations as 
advisory opinions only. Where an opinion is not in accord with other information or is in any way 
questionable, CIS is not required to accept that opinion or may give it less weight. Matter of Caron 
International, 19 I&N Dec. 791 (Comm. 1988). 
In that the record provides no independent evidence describing the beneficiary's previous employment, the 
petitioner cannot establish that his work history included the theoretical and practical application of 
specialized knowledge required of management analysts, was gained while working with others who have 
business administration degrees or the equivalent, or that his expertise in management analysis was 
recognized during the course of his employment history. Accordingly, the petitioner has not proved the 
beneficiary to have acquired the equivalent of a master's degree in business administration through a 
combination of education, specialized training, and/or work experience, as required to satisfy the 
requirements of the fifth criterion at 8 C.F.R. 8 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D). 
For reasons related in the preceding discussion, the petitioner has failed to establish that the beneficiary is 
qualified to perform the duties of a specialty occupation. Accordingly, the AAO 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. 
8 1361. The petitioner has met that burden. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. The petition is denied.