sustained H-1B Case: Accounting

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Mass Ave., N.W., Rrn. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: WAC 04 032 52766 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: APR 1 2 2006 
IN RE: Petitioner: 
Beneficiary: 
PETITION: 
 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section 10 1 (a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 8 1 lOl(a)(lS)(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 04 032 52766 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The director of the service center denied the nonimmigrant visa petition and the matter is now 
before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be sustained. The petition will be 
approved. 
The petitioner is a manufacturing company that seeks to employ the beneficiary as an accountant. The 
petitioner, therefore, endeavors to classify the beneficiary as a nonimmigrant worker in a specialty occupation 
pursuant to section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 
8 U.S.C. 9 1 lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition finding that the proffered position is not a specialty occupation, and that the 
beneficiary is not qualified for a specialty occupation. On appeal, counsel submits a brief. 
The AAO will first address whether the proposed position qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 8 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. 
Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. 8 214.2(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; 
(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 criteria at 
8 C.F.R. 9 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) to mean not just any baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific 
specialty that is directly related to the proffered position. 
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The record of proceeding before the AAO contains: (1) Form 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for additional evidence; (3) the petitioner's response to the director's request; (4) the 
director's denial letter; and (5) Form I-290B and supporting documentation. The AAO reviewed the record in 
its entirety before issuing its decision. 
The petitioner is seeking the beneficiary's services as an accountant. Evidence of the beneficiary's duties 
includes: the Form 1-129; the attachments accompanying the Form 1-129; the petitioner's support letter; and 
the petitioner's response to the director's request for evidence. According to this evidence, the beneficiary 
would perform duties that entail: analyzing financial information and preparing financial reports to determine 
assets, liabilities, profit and loss, and tax liability; analyzing operations, trends, costs, revenues, and financial 
commitments and obligations to project future revenues and expenses; developing, maintaining, and 
analyzing budgets and preparing reports comparing budgeted costs to actual costs; preparing the balance 
sheet, profit and loss statement, and amortization and depreciation schedules; reporting finances to 
management and advising them about resource utilization, tax strategies, and assumptions underlying budget 
forecasts; computing taxes; auditing contracts and preparing reports that substantiate transactions; providing 
cost and variance analysis and budgeting; determining the cost of business activities, providing price and 
profitability reports and analyzing changes in production and services to determine the impact on cost; 
providing inventory analysis for excess and obsolete, standard costing, and development of BOM and routing 
cost analysis; preparing and filing federal, state, local, and corporate returns; providing internal accounting; 
providing budgeting and preparing corporate financial statements using Oracle Financials and Access; 
generating monthly invoices using MS Excel and determining legitimate costs; valuing assets, assessing risk, 
forecasting and projecting financials, and providing auditing compliance. For the proposed position, the 
petitioner requires a bachelor's degree and passage of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination. 
The director stated that the proposed duties reflect those of an accountant as that occupation is described in 
the Handbook; but that sole reliance on duties resembling those of an accountant as that occupation is 
described in the Handbook and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) is misplaced. When determining 
whether a position qualifies as a specialty occupation, the director stated that the specific duties combined 
with the nature of the petitioning entity are factors that CIS considers, and that each position must be 
evaluated based on the nature and complexity of the actual job duties. The director stated that the 
beneficiary's obtaining a degree in a related area does not guarantee the position is a specialty occupation. 
The director found that the petitioner does not employ financial clerks, positions that are non-specialty 
occupations, and that although the proposed position requires some financial analysis, the actual duties to be 
performed by the beneficiary are more closely related to those of financial clerks. The director discussed the 
Handbook's description of a management accountant, and stated that the petitioner does not have the 
organizational complexity, scale of business, or type of business to require the services of a part or full-time 
accountant. According to the director, the beneficiary would not be used exclusively to review, analyze, and 
report on accounting records, which are the duties of an accountant. The director concluded that the 
petitioner failed to establish any of the criteria under 8 C.F.R. $ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). The director also found the 
beneficiary unqualified for an accountant position. 
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On appeal, counsel states that CIS previously approved similar H-1B petitions filed by employers on behalf of 
the beneficiary. Counsel contends that the position offered here is a specialty occupation. Counsel cites to 
Young China Daily v. Chappell, 742 F. Supp. 552 (N.D. Cal., 1989) to show that the size of an operation is 
irrelevant in determining whether a position is a specialty occupation. Counsel states that the petitioner has 
19 employees and had gross earnings of over $5 million in 2001, nearly $8 million in 2002, and $10 million 
in 2003. The petitioner requires an accountant, counsel asserts, due to its increase in sales and lack of 
executive and managerial staff. Counsel maintains that the beneficiary holds the educational equivalent to a 
bachelor's degree in accounting, thereby qualifying for the proposed position. 
The AAO finds that the proposed position qualifies as a specialty occupation under the fourth criterion at 
8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), which requires that a petitioner establish that the nature of the specific duties is 
so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform them is usually associated with the attainment of 
a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. With the case here, the submitted income tax records 
substantiate counsel's assertions regarding the petitioner's income, and the DE-6 Form for the quarter ending 
March 3 1, 2004 conveys that the petitioner has 24 employees and paid wages of $121,071. The 
organizational chart portrays the petitioner as employing designers, spreaders, sample makers, a pattern 
maker, and a grader and marker. In the context of this evidence, the petitioner established that the proposed 
duties would require a baccalaureate degree in accounting. Accordingly, the proposed position qualifies as a 
specialty occupation. 
And now, the AAO will consider the beneficiary's qualifications for the proposed position. 
The record contains the following academic documents relating to the beneficiary: a transcript and certificate 
of graduation regarding the bachelor of engineering degree; an academic record from Korea Accounting and 
Information School listing the completion of eight accounting courses; a transcript from Palomar College in 
California showing passage of 19 accounting and business courses; and a letter from the California Board of 
Accountancy stating that the beneficiary passed all sections of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant 
Examination. 
There are two educational evaluations in the record. The evaluator from Educational Assessment, Inc. states 
that the beneficiary's academic background is the equivalent of a bachelor of engineering degree in 
environmental engineering and a baccalaureate degree in accounting fiom an accredited university in the 
United States. The evaluator from Morningside Evaluations and Consulting states that the beneficiary holds 
the equivalent of a bachelor of science degree in engineering with a concentration in accounting from an 
accredited institution of higher education in the United States. Even though their evaluations are based on 
the same evidence, the AAO finds that the evaluators reach inconsistent conclusions about the beneficiary's 
educational equivalency. CIS uses an evaluation by a credentials evaluation organization of a person's foreign 
education as an advisory opinion only. Where an evaluation is not in accord with previous equivalencies or is 
in any way questionable, it may be discounted or given less weight. Matter of Sea, Inc., 19 I&N Dec. 817 
(Comm. 1988). Nonetheless, the AAO finds that both evaluators consider the beneficiary as holding a 
bachelor's degree in engineering, and the AAO notes that the beneficiary's completion of 27 units in business 
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and accounting courses is a sufficient concentration in the field of accounting. 
 As such, the beneficiary 
qualifies for the proposed position of accountant. 
The burden of proof in these proceedings rests solely with the petitioner. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. tj 1361. 
The petitioner has sustained that burden. 
ORDER: 
 The appeal is sustained. The petition is approved.