remanded H-1B

remanded H-1B Case: Accounting

๐Ÿ“… Date unknown ๐Ÿ‘ค Company ๐Ÿ“‚ Accounting

Decision Summary

The AAO reopened the proceeding on its own motion after a prior dismissal and a federal court complaint. The case was remanded for more evidence because the petitioner had only provided generalized job descriptions for the accountant position, failing to prove that the specific duties required the theoretical application of specialized knowledge and at least a bachelor's degree, which are necessary to qualify as a specialty occupation.

Criteria Discussed

Specialty Occupation Bachelor'S Degree Requirement

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
PETITION: 
 Petition for a Nonimrnigrant Worker Pursuant to Section 101 (a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 9 1 101 (a)(l 5)(H)(i)(b) 
5 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
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INSTRUCTIONS: 
FILE: WAC 04 038 50295 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: 
 $ruG 2 1 2006 
Attached is a request for evidence relating to the above proceeding. Pursuant to federal regulations at 
8 C.F.R. 9 103.2(b)(8), you are allowed 12 weeks from the date of this notice to respond to the above address. 
This same regulatory section states that additional time may not be granted. All evidence submitted in 
response to a request for evidence must be submitted at one time. The submission of only some of the 
requested evidence will be considered a request for a decision based on the record. 8 C.F.R. 9 103.2(b)(11). 
Failure to respond to this notice will be considered to be an abandonment of the petition. 
 8 C.F.R. 
103.2(b)(13). 
Robert P. Wiemann, Chief 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 04 038 50295 
Request for Evidence 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: 
 On November 24, 2003, the petitioner filed Form 1-129, Petition for a Nonirnmigrant 
Worker (Form I-129), seeking to employ the beneficiary as an accountant pursuant to section 
10 1 (a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 1 10 1 (a)(l S)(H)(i)(b). The 
California Service Center director denied the petition and the petitioner appealed that decision to the 
Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The AAO dismissed the appeal on March 1, 2006. Subsequently, the 
petitioner filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California seeking declaratory 
and injunctive relief requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to grant the H-1B petition. 
Lunex Corporation and Connie Guerrero v. Christina Poulos, et al., CV06-3281 (May 26,2006). 
In reviewing the record, the AAO has determined that additional information is required before the petition 
can be given further consideration. Therefore, the AAO reopens the proceeding on is own motion pursuant to 
8 C.F.R. 5 103.5(a)(S)(ii). This letter advises the petitioner of the specific areas in which additional 
information is required, and it offers the petitioner the opportunity to provide the requested information prior 
to a final determination by the AAO. 
Focus of the Request for Additional Information 
To date counsel and the petitioner have relied upon the similarity between generalized terms it uses to 
describe the proffered position and terms that the Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook 
(Handbook) and Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) use to describe the occupational category of 
accountants. 
However, as indicated in the AAO decision, not all accountant positions require a four-year degree in 
accounting. 
Furthermore, qualification of a position as a specialty occupation is not determined by how closely 
descriptions of the position approximate descriptions in the Handbook or DOT. Rather, specialty occupation 
status must be substantiated by evidence of record about the actual performance requirements of that 
particular position in the context of the petitioner's particular business. In consonance with section 21 4(i)(l) 
of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 1184 (i)(l), for an accountant position, the evidence must establish that the actual 
performance requires the theoretical application of a body of highly specialized accounting knowledge and 
the attainment of at least a bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, in accounting or a related specialty. 
In describing the position and its duties, the petitioner has provided only generalized statements about duties 
that are generic to occupations in the accounting field; these statements do not illuminate the actual work to 
be performed in the particular position that is the subject of the petition. For instance, the petitioner states 
that the accountant will prepare "financial statements from the point of view of stockholders, tax authorities, 
regulatory agencies, and creditors" (page 1 of the petitioner's October 8, 2003 letter supporting the petition) 
and that the accountant "will formulate budgeting proposals" and perform allied work such as analysis of 
records, estimation of future expenditures "applying the theory of cost-benefit analysis" (page 2 of the letter). 
However, the petitioner provides no substantive information about the content of the financial statements and 
budget proposals or about elements of the petitioner's operations and financial structure that these work 
products are to assess. 
WAC 04 038 50295 
Request for Evidence 
Page 3 
This request provides the petitioner the opportunity to provide evidence to substantiate that the actual 
performance requirements of the proffered position require the accounting knowledge acquired by at least a 
bachelor's degree, or the equivalent, in accounting or a related specialty. 
Nature of the Petitioner's Business 
The Form 1-1 29 states that the petitioner is a "Telecommunications firm [specializing] in cellular phones and 
phone cards distribution," was founded in 2001, and has ten employees and additional "outside independent 
sales representatives." The petitioner's October 8, 2003 letter, submitted with the Form 1-129, offered little 
additional information with regard to the petitioner's business operations. Accordingly, the AAO requests 
that the petitioner supplement the record with the following: 
Identification - by name and type of business - of all other businesses that maintain a business 
address or conduct business at the petitioner's office address. 
Certified DE-6 quarterly wage reports for the last eight quarters, with a list identifying the 
positions and duties of each of the petitioner's employees. The list should include any 
positions held and duties performed by the petitioner's employees that relate to business other 
than the distribution of cellular phones and phone cards which was described as the 
petitioner's business on the Form 1-129 and documents submitted in support of the petition. 
The reason for the petitioner's reporting to the State of California Economic Development 
Division that it had no employees for the first quarter of 2006. 
Documentation to establish whether the petitioner operates as a direct agent, dealer, or reseller 
of the phone products it distributes. 
Copies of the contracts and licenses under which the petitioner is authorized to sell its phone 
products. 
Evidence that supports its assertion that it is a publicly held firm, to include documentation 
establishing the date that it went public. 
A copy of the petitioner's lease for office space at its current location. 
A copy of the petitioner's original incorporation papers, and copies of its filings to register to 
do business as a distributor of cellular phones and phone cards. 
Copies of invoices and other records of business transactions that show the type(s) of business 
in which the petitioner is engaged. 
Identification of the beneficiary's current position and employer. 
As checks of relevant California data bases indicate that the petitioner is registered as a real 
estate company, explanations of why the petitioner is registered as a real estate company and 
WAC 04 038 50295 
Request for Evidence 
Page 4 
why it has failed to notify the State of California regarding the change of business operations 
to distribution of cellular phones and phone cards. 
The Petitioner's Income and Growth 
The petition and its supporting documents and the brief on appeal assert that: (1) the petitioner's gross 
receipts for reporting year 2002 exceeded $5,000,000; (2) it has a projected gross income of $28,000,000 for 
2003; and (3) the petitioner "continues to experience growth at phenomenal and exponential rates." The 
petitioner's October 8, 2003 letter of support states: "The increasing volume of our financial transactions 
prompted our decision to seek the services of [the beneficiary] as an Accountant." 
To provide the petitioner the opportunity to substantiate these assertions, the AAO requests copies of 
All of the petitioner's Form 1120 and other federal tax returns for the years 2002 through 
2005, with all related schedules and tables; and/or 
The petitioner's complete audited financial statements, with supporting details, for the years 
2002 through 2005. 
Substantive Information about the Matters that the Accountant Would Address 
As indicated in the AAO's decision and in the preamble to this request, the duties listed by counsel on appeal 
do not relate to substantive work that the accountant would actually perform with regard to the particular 
business matters of the petitioner. Accordingly, the petitioner is requested to provide: 
1. A concrete description of the substantive work that the duties would entail in relation to the 
petitioner's particular business operations; 
2. Concrete descriptions of the following items (from the appeal brief) as they relate specifically 
to the petitioner's own particular business structure and operations: 
The "financial information" that the accountant would compile and analyze; 
and 
The "financial statements" and "other accounting reports" to be prepared 
"from the point of view of stockholders, tax authorities, regulatory agencies, 
and creditors." 
3. Copies of any reports or other documents prepared by the petitioner's previous accountant[s] 
that the petitioner wishes to offer; and 
4. Identification of the specific regulatory agencies for which the petitioner provides reports, and 
identification of each type of report provided to those agencies. 
WAC 04 038 50295 
Request for Evidence 
Page 5 
The Petitioner's Degree Requirement for the Proffered Position 
According to counsel's statement at part 3 of the Form I-290B, "The evidence submitted clearly established 
that [the petitioner] requires its accountant(s) to be possessed of a Bachelor's Degree." However, the only 
support for this assertion is the statement in the January 8, 2004 letter of the petitioner's former counsel that 
the last employee who held the position "is a degree holder." Likewise, with regard to the chain of 
supervision above the accountant, the organizational chart states that the CFO and Accounting Manager hold 
bachelor's degrees; but the chart does not identify the major or areas of concentration of those degrees, and 
the record contains no evidence of the degrees. 
Accordingly, the AAO requests that the petitioner substantiate the degrees held by providing: 
The names and periods of employment of each person that the petitioner hired as its accountant, 
CFO, and accounting manager; 
The specific degree held by each accountant, CFO, and accounting manager, including the 
level (associate's, bachelor's, master's), academic major or area of concentration, date 
awarded, and the name and location of the academic institution that awarded the degree; and 
A copy of each diploma. 
Pursuant to federal regulations at 8 C.F.R. (j 103.2(b)(8), the petitioner is allowed 12 weeks from the date of 
this notice to respond to the AAO and additional time may not be granted. All evidence submitted in 
response to a request for evidence must be submitted at one time. The submission of only some of the 
requested evidence will be considered a request for a decision based on the record. 8 C.F.R. (j 103.2(b)(11). 
If the petitioner's response does not establish that the petition was approvable at the time it was filed, then the 
petition cannot be approved. 8 C.F.R. ยง 103.2(b)(12). Failure to respond to this notice will be considered as 
an abandonment of the petition. 8 C.F.R. (j 103.2(b)(13). 
After the 12-week period, the AAO will prepare and issue a new appellate decision, taking into account all of 
the evidence of the record, including the new and additional evidence submitted in response to this notice. 
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