sustained H-1B Case: Accounting

muc COPY 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass. Ave., N.W., Rrn. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U.S. Citizenship 
identiifying data deleted to 
 and Immigration 
pent dearly unwarranted 
invasion of personal privacy 
FILE: WAC 03 145 52900 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: MAR 0 8 2006 
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 10 1 (a)( 1 5)(H)(i)(b) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
This is the decision 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. 
(?i> ; 
R.;.%!k"". 
Robe P. Wiemann, Director 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 03 145 52900 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The director of the California Service Center denied the nonimmigrant petition and the 
Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) dismissed a subsequent appeal. The petitioner filed a complaint in the 
U.S. District Co 
 trict of California. 
 Knit Fit, Inc. & Margarita L. Chua v. Alberto R. 
(SSX) (filed April 22, 2005). Under agreement with the petitioner's (ionzaiez, a a/, mer. 
counsel, the AA 
 The previous decision will be withdrawn. The petition will be 
approved. 
The petitioner is a wholesaler of sweaters, with 17 employees as of the time of filing and a gross annual 
income of $21.9 million reported at the time of filing. It seeks to employ the beneficiary as an accountant 
pursuant to section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 
1 10 1 (a)(l 5)(H)(i)(b). The director denied the petition because he determined the record failed to establish the 
proffered position as 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) the petitioner's response to the director's request; (4) the director's letter 
of denial; (5) the Form I-290B, with a letter from the petitioner; (6) the AAO dismissal of the appeal; (7) the 
AAO request for evidence; and (8) counsel's response to the AAO request. The AAO reviewed the record in 
its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The issue before the AAO is whether the petitioner's proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
To meets its burden of proof in this regard, the petitioner must establish that the job it is offering to the 
beneficiary meets the following statutory and regulatory requirements. 
Section 214(i)(l) of 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. fj 214.2(h)(4)(ii) as: 
An occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly 
specialized knowledge in fields 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 entry into the occupation in the United States. 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), to qualify as a specialty occupation, the position must meet one of 
the following criteria: 
(1) 
 A baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum 
requirement for entry into the particular position; 
WAC 03 145 52900 
Page 3 
(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. 
Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) interprets the term "degree" in the above criteria to mean not just 
any baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific specialty that is directly related to the proffered 
position. 
In its prior dismissal of the petitioner's appeal, the AAO, while it concluded that the duties of the proffered 
position required the beneficiary to have a knowledge of accounting, did not find these duties to require a 
level of knowledge acquired only through a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Accordingly, the AAO's 
November 10, 2005 request for evidence sought information that would provide a full understanding of the 
duties to be performed by the beneficiary, including evidence of the business environment in which these 
duties would be performed. It specifically requested information concerning the petitioner's structure and 
revenues. 
While the size of a petitioner's business is normally not a factor in determining the nature of a proffered 
position, both its level of income and the scope and/or complexity of its operations are appropriately reviewed 
when a petitioner seeks to employ an H-1B worker as an accountant. In such cases, the AAO reviews the 
record for evidence that the petitioner's operations are of sufficient complexity to indicate that it would 
employ the beneficiary in an accounting position requiring a level of financial knowledge that may be 
obtained only through a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent in accounting or a related academic field. 
In its response to the AAO request for evidence, the petitioner submits an expanded description of the 
beneficiary's duties, clarifying and further defining these tasks in terms of its business. It also provides a 
copy of its organizational chart indicating the placement of the beneficiary within the company structure, a 
list of 17 employees (not including the beneficiary) by name, title and function, 2003 Quarterly Wage Reports 
for these employees and the beneficiary, and its 2003 and 2004 federal and state tax returns, which establish 
gross annual revenues of approximately $38 million and $37 million respectively, and proof of the 
petitioner's presence in China. 
This documentation establishes the petitioner as a business of considerable size and complexity, with 
significant revenues. In this context, the AAO finds the duties described by the petitioner to identify a more 
complex financial role for the beneficiary than was previously indicated by the record, one requiring a greater 
understanding of accounting practice and principles. The analysis and interpretation of financial data, when 
dealing with revenues at the level indicated by the petitioner's tax returns, are not duties performed by 
bookkeepers. Instead, they reflect the employment of management accountants who, as described in the 
2006-2007 edition of the Handbook, "analyze and interpret the financial information that corporate executives 
WAC 03 145 52900 
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need in order to make sound business decisions."' As the Handbook also indicates that the occupation of 
management accountant requires at least a bachelor's degree in accounting or a related field, the AAO finds 
the petitioner to have established the proffered position as a specialty occupation under the first criterion at 8 
C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) - a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum 
requirement for entry into the particular position. 
The AAO now turns to the record before it to determine whether the beneficiary is qualified to perform the 
duties of the proffered position. 
To prove that a beneficiary is qualified to perform the duties of a specialty occupation, a petitioner must 
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. 
Further discussion of how an alien qualifies to perform services in a specialty occupation is found at 8 C.F.R. 
21 4.2(h)(4)(iii)(C), and requires the individual to: 
(I) 
 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; 
(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, andlor 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. 
At the time of filing, the petitioner submitted evidence to establish that the beneficiary holds a foreign degree 
that is the equivalent of a U.S. baccalaureate degree in accounting. This evidence includes copies of the 
beneficiary's diploma from the Far Eastern University in The Philippines documenting her 1971 bachelor of 
science degree in commerce, her academic transcripts, and an evaluation of her educational credentials by the 
International Education Research Foundation (IERF), Inc. in Culver City, California. The IERF evaluation 
finds the beneficiary's degree in commerce to be the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree in business 
administration, with a concentration in accounting, from an accredited college or university in the United 
States. 
1 
 Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 Edition, at www.bls.gov/oco/ocos001 .htm. 
WAC 03 145 52900 
Page 5 
Having reviewed the documentation provided by the petitioner, the AAO accepts the IERF evaluation and 
finds the beneficiary to hold a foreign degree that is the equivalent of a U.S. baccalaureate degree required by 
the proffered position, a business administration degree with a major in accounting. Therefore, the petitioner 
has established the beneficiary as qualified to perform the duties of a specialty occupation under the second 
criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C). 
For the reasons previously discussed, the petitioner has established the proffered position as a specialty 
occupation and the beneficiary as qualified to perform the duties of the position. Accordingly, the AAO's 
previous decision is withdrawn. 
The burden of proof in these proceedings rests solely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
5 1361. The petitioner has met that burden. 
ORDER: The previous decision is withdrawn. The petition is approved.