sustained H-1B Case: Business Software

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF A-, INC. 
APPEAL OF VERMONT SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: SEPT. 5, 2019 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner , a business software company , seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary as a 
"developer" under the H-lB nonimrnigrant classification for specialty occupations. Immigration and 
Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) . The H-IB 
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 Vermont Service Center denied the petition , concluding that the Petitioner did not 
sufficiently establish that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation. On appeal, the 
Petitioner submits a brief and additional documentation and contends that the petition should be 
approved. Upon de nova review, we will sustain the appeal. 
We conclude that the record establishes that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and 
complex that the knowledge required to perform them is usually associated with the attainment of a 
bachelor's or higher degree in a specific specialty , or its equivalent. Specifically, the Petitioner has 
provided a detailed job description and explained why these duties, when performed within the context 
of its specific business operation, are specialized and complex . Moreover , though the Petitioner 
identified a range of degrees as acceptable for the proffered position that on its face may appear broad, 
the record of proceedings in this particular case establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that 
the knowledge associated with the proposed duties nonetheless constitutes a "body of highly 
specialized knowledge" such that attainment of one of those degrees would still constitute a degree 
"in the specific specialty" as contemplated by section 214(i)(l) of the Act. See Matter ofChawathe , 25 
I&N Dec. 369, 376 (AAO 2010). Therefore , the record satisfies the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 
§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(4). Further, the Petitioner has established that the proffered position qualifies for 
classification as a specialty occupation as defined by section 214(i)(l) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. 
§ 1184(i)(l) , and 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(4)(ii). 
Matter of A-, Inc. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of A-, Inc., ID# 4385220 (AAO Sept. 5, 2019) 
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