remanded H-1B Case: Business Analytics

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 5099006 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker (H-lB) 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : FEB. 13, 2020 
The Petitioner seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary under the H-IB nonimmigrant 
classification for specialty occupations. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 8 U.S.C. § 110l(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 evidence of 
record did not establish that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation . On appeal, the 
Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that the Director erred in denying the petition. 
While we conduct de nova review on appeal, a remand is warranted in this case because the Director ' s 
decision is seemingly insufficient for review. As presently constituted , the record of proceedings as 
currently constituted is not sufficiently developed so as to allow us to determine whether the proffered 
position is actually located within the occupational category for which the labor condition application 
(LCA) was certified . Without knowing the answer to that question we cannot determine the actual, 
substantive nature of the position , which means that as this record currently stands we cannot make a 
determination on the specialty-occupation question. We therefore are remanding this matter so that 
the Director can determine whether the LCA was certified for the appropriate occupational category 
and therefore properly corresponds with and supports the petition. 1 
The statutory and regulatory definitions of a specialty occupation focus on the broader occupation as 
a whole , and the use of an incorrect occupational code could result in an erroneous decision , or one 
1 While Department of Labor (DOL) certifies the LCA, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) determines 
whether the LCA's attestations and content corresponds with and supports the H- lB petition. See 20 C.F.R. § 655.705(b) 
("DHS determines whether the petition is supported by an LCA which corresponds with the petition . . .. "). See also 
Matter of Simeio Solutions, 26 I&N Dec. 542, 546 n.6 (AAO 2015). When comparing the standard occupation 
classification (SOC) code or the wage level indicated on the LCA to the claims associated with the petition, USCIS does 
not purport to supplant DOL's responsibility with respect to wage determinations. There may be some overlap in 
considerations, but USC IS' responsibility at its stage of adjudication is to ensure that the content of the DOL-certified 
LCA "c01Tesponds with" the content of the H-lB petition. 
that does not properly assess the actual nature of the occupation in which a beneficiary would engage. 
Specifically, we cannot provide an apt analysis for the proffered position under the Standard 
Occupational Classification (SOC) code 13-1111 corresponding to the occupational title 
"Management Analysts" if the duties the Petitioner provided look as if they more properly correspond 
with a different SOC code. 
On the certified LCA submitted in support of the H-lB petition, 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 I wage rate. The Petitioner initially 
described the duties that the Beneficiary would perform as a "sales and CRM analyst," as follows 
(verbatim): 2 
1. Lead and execute complex data related analytical projects to drive business 
decisions and assist management and sales department in operating more 
efficiently. 
2. Ensure the timeliness and accuracy of internal and external reports and analytics 
deliverables to assist management team and sales department with making 
decisions. 
3. Manage scheduled and ad hoc reporting needs of the organization. 
4. Oversee large data related projects and collaborates with cross-functional 
departments to develop and implement improved reporting and data workflows and 
processes in order to improve efficiency. 
5. Prepare budgets and communicate significant variances. 
6. Coordinate and advise a team of business and marketing analysts of variable skill 
and practice levels. 
7. Analyze and monitor ROI on marking projects, campaigns and business initiatives 
to ensure Company marketing and sales initiatives are as operating efficiently. 
8. Leverage advanced analytics techniques on large and disparate data sets for the 
purpose of delivering analyses and insights or formulation analytics-enabled 
solutions. 
9. Build and manage algorithms, visualize results and communicated or presents 
capabilities for decisions to business lines and senior management. 
10. Lead efforts in finding new sources of data and uses data manipulation and analytics 
tools to execute analysis on large data stores. 
11. Creating visual dashboards for company use. 
12. Provide ongoing status reports to senior leadership. 
13. Performs other duties as assigned. 
2 We acknowledge that the Petitioner submitted additional information for the job duties, which, for the sake of brevity, 
have not been included herein. However, this material has been closely reviewed and considered, as with all evidence in 
the record. For instance, the Petitioner also included a listing of coursework for the purpose of conelating the need for the 
Beneficiary's master's degree and bachelor's degree education in engineering and management 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]."). 
2 
In response to the Director's request for evidence (RFE), the Petitioner presented an expanded position 
description which included the relative percentage of time that the Beneficiary would devote to each 
job function, summarized as follows: 
• Design and [ d]evelop data driven business reports by extensively using Oracle SQL 
Developer, Postgres SQL, Microsoft Excel, Tableau desktop and Tableau server to 
be used by the End Users of the business. (20%) 
• Analyze strategies and executions of marketing efforts/projects intended to 
optimize ROI and market penetration. 20% 
• Develop and adjust budgets and forecasts using statistical insight methods [] for 
Sales Executives and Field Sales Managers to define their monthly and yearly 
targets, communicate significant variances, and provide Business insights to meet 
their targets. (10%) 
• Develop multiple detailed performance reports for Sales department according to 
proprietary requirements and behavior modification modules using Customized 
SQL queries, Microsoft Excel, and Tableau. (10%) 
• Perform analysis on massive data sets using SQL queries and Tableau in order to 
provide logical, actionable, and business relevant insights to marketing. (10%) 
• Develop portfolio reporting on company wide basis using Oracle SQL and 
descriptive details in Tableau. (10%) 
• Develop Response Model by applying stepwise regression in R code to identify key 
metrics driving the response rate within the customer base. (5%) 
• Develop presentations and interactive tableau dashboards using SQL queries and 
Tableau for senior Management on [w]eekly, [m]onthly, and [a]nnual basis to 
review performance of the company and provide business insights from the data. 
(5%) 
• Perform chum analysis on new and existing customers using SQL queries and 
Tableau to identify whether it was voluntary or involuntary chum, at what rate of 
occurrence, within various stratified populations and predictable within certain 
subgroups. (5%) 
• Perform adhoc analysis request[ s] using [ various information technology products]. 
(3%) 
• Develop and automate Sales, Marketing, and Product reports using SQL and 
Microsoft Excel. (2%) 
The Petitioner's job descriptions for the proffered position may comport, in part, with the typical tasks 
performed by individuals employed in the "Management Analysts" occupational category. However, 
the record does not sufficiently establish that the proffered position's predominant job functions 
correspond with the general duties of positions located within the "Management Analysts" 
occupational category. Moreover, the Petitioner's explanation regarding the analytical focus of 
individuals involved in "[s]ales and CRM analytics" provided in response to the Director's request for 
evidence (RFE) does not appear consistent with the general responsibilities of "Management 
Analysts." The Petitioner described sales and CRM analytics, as follows: 
3 
Sales Analytics is the process utilized by business and organizations to identify, model, 
understand and predict sales trends and sales results while finding improvement points. 
Sales Analytics includes data regarding pricing of products, branding, competitor 
pricing and sales, marketing trends and channels, and customer-related data. 
Additionally Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Analytics refers to the 
process used to evaluate a business or organization's customer data. The data includes 
sales records, purchasing history, types of purchase, service history, product inquiries, 
complaints, exposure and response to marketing campaigns, and channel preferences. 
For example, CRM Analysts monitor responses to an email marketing campaign, to 
identify the messages or offers that trigger a response from a customer. Many 
companies use both Sales Analytics and CRM Analytics to predict future sales and 
customer satisfaction in order to derive profit. 
Sales and CRM Analysts use various advanced analytical techniques such as the use of 
a variety of applications, data mining, data collection and manipulation, data utilization, 
data cleaning, and data visualization. The Analysts employ both quantitative data 
analytics, which consists of hard numbers such as revenues, profits, and marketing 
numbers, and qualitative data analytics, which consists of interpretive and subjective 
data such as customer surveys .... 
Notably, the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) does not specifically list duties involving 
Sales and CRM Analytics tasks as described by the Petitioner. Rather, O*NET summarizes the duties 
of "Management Analysts" as follows: 3 
[They] [c]onduct organizational studies and evaluations, design systems and 
procedures, conduct work simplification and measurement studies, and prepare 
operations and procedures manuals to assist management in operating more efficiently 
and effectively. Includes program analysts and management consultants. 
The Petitioner has not sufficiently established that the proffered position's duties, including "[a]nalyze 
strategies and executions of marketing efforts/projects intended to optimize ROI and market 
penetration," and "[p ]erform analysis on massive data sets using SQL queries and Tableau in order to 
provide logical, actionable and business relevant insights to marketing, [s]ales, and [p]roduct 
departments to ensure astute market responsiveness," (which will collectively encompass 30% of the 
Beneficiary's work time) are consistent with the "Management Analyst occupational category. 
Therefore, the Petitioner has not adequately shown that the proffered position properly falls within the 
"Management Analyst" occupational category corresponding to SOC code 13-1111, which raises 
questions regarding whether the LCA corresponds with the petition. 4 
3 See O*NET Summary Report for "Management Analysts," https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/13-l l l 1.00 (last 
visited Feb. 12, 2020). See also 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 Feb. 
12, 2020). All of our references to the Handbook may be accessed at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/. We do not maintain that 
the Handbook is the exclusive source of relevant information. 
4 20 C.F.R. § 655.705(b). 
4 
We also observe that another occupational category appears to more directly correspond with the sales 
and CRM data analysis functions alluded to in the petition. O*NET summarizes the "Business 
Intelligence Analysts" occupational category, indicating that individuals employed in the occupation 
"[p ]roduce financial and market intelligence by querying data repositories and generating periodic 
reports. Devise methods for identifying data patterns and trends in available information sources." 
Here, many of the duties of the proffered position appear to be closely related to the "Business 
Intelligence Analysts" tasks described in the O*NET report for the occupation, 5 such as: 
• Analyze competitive market strategies through analysis of related product, market, or 
share trends. Synthesize current business intelligence or trend data to support 
recommendations for action. 
• Manage timely flow of business intelligence information to users. 
• Collect business intelligence data from available industry reports, public information, 
field reports, or purchased sources. 
• Identify and analyze industry or geographic trends with business strategy implications. 
• Analyze technology trends to identify markets for future product development or to 
improve sales of existing products. 
• Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data 
for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders. 
• Identify or monitor current and potential customers, using business intelligence tools. 
Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or 
methods. 
• Create business intelligence tools or systems, including design of related databases, 
spreadsheets, or outputs. 
• Disseminate information regarding tools, reports, or metadata enhancements. 
Importantly, the Petitioner previously filed another H-lB petition on the Beneficiary's behalf seeking 
approval for his employment as a "sales reporting analyst." The Director denied that petition 
concluding that the proffered position did not qualify as a specialty occupation. 6 In the previous 
petition, the Petitioner designated the proffered position under the occupational category "Business 
Intelligence Analysts" corresponding to the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 15-
1199.08, and initially presented a position description that was virtually the same as the initial duties 
submitted with this petition. The Petitioner did not explain why it newly presented the proffered 
position as one that corresponds to the "Management Analysts" occupational category, when it appears 
to have presented essentially the same position under the "Business Intelligence Analysts" 
occupational category in the previous petition. 7 
In general, if the duties of a proffered position involve more than one occupational category (i.e., 
"Management Analysts" and "Business Intelligence Analysts"), the DOL's "Prevailing Wage 
5 See O*NET Summary Report for "Business Intelligence Analysts," https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/15-
l l 99.08 (last visited Feb. 12, 2020). 
6 Seel lwe agreed with the Director's determinations in the previous petition, and subsequently 
dismissed the Petitioner's appeal of the Director's decision. See ID# 1581462 (AAO Oct. 3, 2018). 
7 The Director may consider asking the Petitioner to provide evidence to resolve this inconsistency if she requests additional 
evidence relevant to a new determination. Matter of Ho, 19 T&N Dec. 582, 591-92 (BIA 1988). 
5 
Determination Policy Guidance" states that the employer "should default directly to the relevant 
O*NET-SOC occupational code for the highest paying occupation. "8 At the time the Petitioner's LCA 
in this petition was certified, the Level I prevailing wage for "Business Intelligence Analysts" in the 
area of intended employment was $62,296 per year, which is significantly higher than the prevailing 
wage for "Management Analysts" of $55,453 per year.9 The Beneficiary's offered rate of pay is 
$59,800 per year. Thus, if the Petitioner believed its position falls under more than one occupational 
category, it should have chosen the relevant occupational code for the highest paying occupation, 
which was not "Management Analysts." 10 
In light of the above, the Director should review the duties provided in the instant petition to determine 
if they are more properly designated under the "Business Intelligence Analysts" SOC code, 
15-1199.08. If the Director determines that the submitted LCA was in fact certified under the 
appropriate occupational category and wage level and therefore does correspond to and support the H­
lB petition, and that the actual, substantive nature of the proffered position has been established, then 
adjudication of the specialty-occupation issue can resume. 
Accordingly, the matter will be remanded to the Director to consider the LCA issue and enter a new 
decision. The Director may request any additional evidence considered pertinent to the new 
determination and any other issue. As such, we express no opinion regarding the ultimate resolution 
of this case on remand. 
ORDER: The decision of the Director is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for the entry of a 
new decision consistent with the foregoing analysis. 
8 See U.S. Dep't of Labor, Emp't & Training Admin., Prevailing Wage Determination Policy Guidance, Nonagric. 
Immigration Programs (rev. Nov. 2009); http://flcdatacenter.com/download/NPWHCGuidance_Revised_l l_2009.pdf 
9 For more information on prevailing wages in the time and area of intended employment, see generally the Foreign Labor 
Certification Data Center Online Wage Library, http://www.flcdatacenter.com. (last visited Feb. 12, 2020). 
10 The position's Level I wage precludes this position from being a combination of both "Management Analysts" and 
"Business Intelligence Analysts" occupations. Prevailing Wage Determination Policy Guidance, supra. 
6