dismissed H-1B Case: Software Development

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF C-G-S-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: SEPT. 26, 2019 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a software development and IT services company, seeks to temporarily employ the 
Beneficiary as a "software developer" under the H-lB nonimmigrant classification for specialty 
occupations. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(l5)(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 that the Petitioner had 
not established that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation and that the Beneficiary 
will perform services in a specialty occupation for the requested period of intended employment. On 
appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Director erred and the evidence supports an approval of the 
petition . 
Upon de nova review, we will dismiss the appeal. 
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. 
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: 
Matter of C-G-S-, Inc. 
(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. 
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). 
II. PROFFERED POSITION 
The Petitioner indicated that the Beneficiary will be "responsible for foll life cycle of the software 
application development." The Petitioner provided various iterations of the position description which 
includes the following: 
• Develop and maintain services ( applications, web servers and databases) by 
evaluating client requirements, analyzing requirements, develop and support 
software systems. 
• Develop scripts to synchronize data between cloud provider and UL 
• Develop solutions to seamlessly Monitor infrastructure, services and network using 
SNMP and other protocols. 
• Create Python based scripts to generate cloud stacks and integrate with security 
process. 
• Build code using Maven using Jenkins build. 
• Coordinate with the UI (User Interface) teams and provide inputs for new page 
layouts. Develop/standardize the interface with UI to ensure business requirements 
are addressed. 
• Participate in code review sessions to make the code reusable, optimized and error 
free. 
• Perform Unit and Integration Testing to ensure high availability of the application 
throughout the lifecycle of the product. 
• Maintain quality of the code across all environments that includes development, 
staging, testing and production. 
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Matter of C-G-S-, Inc. 
• Assist to build and implement continuous delivery pipeline with continuous 
integration, development and testing of code as a part of release automation. 
• Involve in writing project documentation. 
• Involve in story prioritization and pointing. 
• Involve in all phases of software development life cycle including requirements 
gathering, design, development, testing and maintenance of the software. 
• Attend daily scrum meetings and provide status updates in the standup meetings. 
• Involve in the scope discussions with the stake holders to identify the user 
requirements and the user experience to achieve consistency in the proposed 
applications/solutions. 
• Integrate Kubemetes platform with Dockerized container services. 
• Containerize services (Ex: webservers, database servers) using Docker container 
platform. 
• Support the foll stack of the environment including both Hardware and Software 
stack. 
• Responsible for working with the Technical Infrastructure team to extend and 
maintain the cloud-first customer-facing infrastructure. 
• Assist to automate, configure, deploy and scale instances/systems on cloud, virtual 
and datacenter environments. 
• Using Python REST APis, integrate deployment management of infrastructure and 
services in OpenStack, VMware Servers with ServiceNow platform. 
• Work with ServiceNow team to integrate Cloud stack details and launch 
configurations in CMDB. 
• Work with PaaS team (like ServiceNow) for data integration and incident 
management. 
• Work with Security team to integrate the Cloud stack JSON documents with 
security process. 
The Petitioner stated that the position requires a minimum of a bachelor's degree and a comprehensive 
understanding of software programming and development, and the required level of understanding of 
the domain requires at least a bachelor's or master's degree in science or engineering in the relevant 
field. The Petitioner added that the position requires adequate knowledge in computers, electronics, 
communications or information technology systems. 
III. ANALYSIS 
For the reasons set out below, the proffered position does not qualify as a specialty occupation. 
Specifically, the record does not sufficiently establish the substantive nature of the work that the 
Beneficiary will perform, which precludes a determination that the proffered position satisfies any 
criteria at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 1 
1 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. 
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Matter of C-G-S-, Inc. 
The Petitioner did not provide sufficient evidence of the actual work that the Beneficiary will perform 
during the intended employment period. With the initial filing, the Petitioner indicated that the 
Beneficiary "will be assigned to work onl !product." The Petitioner submitted supporting 
evidence including a printout titled "Meet I I' that provided an overview of the product, 
organization chart, and photos of its office. However, the Director concluded that the evidence was 
insufficient and issued a request for evidence (RFE), requesting additional evidence, inter alia, 
regarding the work that the Beneficiary will perform. However, the documents submitted in response 
to the RFE did not adequately establish the services that the Beneficiary will perform and presented 
inconsistencies that undermine the Petitioner's claims regarding the proffered position. For example, 
while the Petitioner stated that the Beneficiary will be employed in-house and not offsite, the 
Petitioner's offer letter to the Beneficiary stated that he will perform employment duties "at locations 
designated by the Company and including customer offices .... " Similarly, the employment 
agreement indicated that "it is understood and agreed that a significant amount of Employee's duties 
may require services being performed out of town at remote client locations." The Petitioner must 
resolve these inconsistencies in the record with independent, objective evidence pointing to where the 
truth lies. Matter of Ho, 19 I&N Dec. 582, 591-92 (BIA 1988). 
Likewise, other evidence in the record raised questions regarding the services the Beneficiary will 
perform. For example, the Petitioner provided "Cost and Market Analysis," 2 a presentation of the 
I I data management solution, and printouts from its website. However, these documents do 
not adequately establish what services the Beneficiary will perform on the 1~-~~" product as the 
product appears have already been devyoped. 
1
otably, on appeal, the Petitioner states "it has used 
thd lproduct in helping its' client in migrating legac a Ii cations to A WS and Oracle 
Cloud" and that it is "in the process of executing a new SOW" · se to the RFE, 
the Petitioner had submitted a statement of work (SOW) with~-------~ as evidence of 
work being completed at its headquarters; however, it is not specific to the Beneficiary and does not 
mention the use of the 1 I product." Further, it was entered into after this petition was filed, and 
the project ended in December 2018. Therefore, it does not provide evidence of specialty occupation 
work for the Beneficiary at the time of filing and throughout the period of intended employment. The 
Petitioner must establish eligibility at the time of filing the nonimmigrant visa petition and must 
continue to be eligible for the benefit through adjudication. 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(l). The record also 
contains the 2019-2020 roadmap for 'I t' which outlines the release schedule but the record does 
not sufficiently establish the Beneficiary's role in the release. Furthermore, the road map raises 
questions about whether 'I I Cloud Solutions" is the Petitioner's product as the road map 
contains an unidentified logo next to 'I I Cloud Solution." 3 We also note that the Petitioner 
claims the Beneficiary will "develop additional products" but the record does not contain evidence 
related to any additional products he will develop. 
While the Petitioner provided several versions of the position descriptions, the stated job duties do not 
sufficiently establish the services the Beneficiary will perform. For example, the duties refer to 
"evaluating client requirements," but as discussed, the record does not contain evidence of a client. In 
fact, on appeal, the Petitioner asserts that "there is no involvement at all with any end-client." 
2 This document does not provide sufficient assessment of the cost or the market; for example, it only lists other products 
and does a comparison of available features but does not include information about the cost. 
3 A search of the Internet indicates that •I I Cloud Solutions" is a company located in the same building. 
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Matter of C-G-S-, Inc. 
Given this specific lack of evidence, the Petitioner has not demonstrated that the proffered position 
requires an educational background, or its equivalent, commensurate with a specialty occupation and 
furthermore that the duties of the proffered position will continue for the duration of the intended 
employment period. In establishing a position as a specialty occupation, the Petitioner must describe 
the specific duties and responsibilities to be performed by the Beneficiary in the context of its business 
operations, demonstrate a legitimate need for an employee exists, and substantiate that it has H-lB 
caliber work for the Beneficiary for the period of employment requested in the petition. The 
generalized information provided here does not detail the duties of the position in relation to the 
Petitioner's actual business operations. Although the Petitioner asserts the Beneficiary will work on 
the j I product," the record does not sufficiently describe the resources necessary for particular 
projects and is non-specific regarding the Beneficiary's proposed role in developing particular 
applications. To qualify for an H-lB approval, the Petitioner must establish that its proffered position 
is an H-lB caliber position. Here, without the context of a project or definitive work within the 
framework of the Petitioner's business operations, it is not possible to determine the substantive nature 
of the proffered position. The record lacks evidence sufficiently concrete and informative to 
demonstrate that the proffered position requires a bachelor's degree level of knowledge in a specific 
specialty. That is, the record does not adequately communicate (1) the actual work that the Beneficiary 
will perform; (2) the complexity, uniqueness, or specialization of the tasks; and (3) the correlation 
between that work and a need for a particular level of education and knowledge. 
Upon review of the totality of the record, we find that it does not include sufficient detailed information 
regarding the duties of the proffered position to establish the substantive nature of the proffered 
position. 4 This lack of probative evidence 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. 
Accordingly, as the Petitioner has not established that it has satisfied any of the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 214.2(h)( 4)(iii)(A), it cannot be found that the proffered position qualifies for classification as a 
specialty occupation. Furthermore, as the proffered position does not qualify as a specialty occupation, 
we cannot find that the Beneficiary will perform services in a specialty occupation for the requested 
period of intended employment. 
4 Since the identified basis for denial is dis positive of the Petitioner's appeal, we decline to reach and hereby reserve the 
Petitioner's appellate arguments regarding its office space. See INS v. Bagamasbad, 429 U.S. 24, 25 (1976) (stating that 
"courts and agencies are not required to make findings on issues the decision of which is unnecessary to the results they 
reach"); see also Matter of L-A-C-. 26 l&N Dec. 516, 526 n. 7 (BIA 2015) ( declining to reach alternative issues on appeal 
where an applicant is otherwise ineligible). 
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Matter of C-G-S-, Inc. 
IV. CONCLUSION 
The record does not demonstrate that the proffered position qualifies for classification as a specialty 
occupation and that the Beneficiary will perform services in a specialty occupation for the requested 
period of intended employment. The appeal will therefore 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. 
Cite as Matter ofC-G-S-, Inc., ID# 4154256 (AAO Sept. 26, 2019) 
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