sustained H-1B Case: Finance

U.S. Departn~ent of Homeland Security 
20 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Rm. 3000 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
FILE: WAC 04 197 52041 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: JUL 2 7 2006 
IN RE: Petitioner: 
Beneficiary 
PETITION: 
 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section 101 (a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1 10 l(a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) 
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER: 
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. 
WAC 04 197 52041 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The service center director 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 an RV resort communities owner that seeks to employ the beneficiary as a management 
analyst and to classify him as a nonimmigrant worker in a specialty occupation pursuant to section 
lOl(a)(l S)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 1 101 (a)(lS)(H)(i)(b). 
The director denied the petition on the grounds that the petitioner failed to establish that the proposed position 
meets the definition of specialty occupation at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). On appeal, counsel asserts that 
the position is that of a management analyst. The AAO determines that the proposed position is that of a 
budget analyst and is a specialty occupation. 
Section 214(i)(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 3 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. 9 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A), to qualify as a specialty occupation, the position must meet one of the 
following criteria: 
(I) 
 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. 
§ 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) to mean not just any bachelor's or higher degree, but one in a specific field of study that 
is directly related to the proposed position. 
The petitioner is seeking the beneficiary's services as a management analyst. 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 RFE. According to this evidence, the beneficiary would perform duties 
that entail, in part, performing profit analyses in order to determine if the margins are set at appropriate levels, 
especially in comparison to the rest of the mobile home industry; analyzing current business and financial 
strategies and recommending any appropriate changes to superiors; analyzing the petitioner's organizational 
structure and then making the necessary recommendations to management in order that management can 
implement these changes so that the business can increase profitability; evaluating all phases of the 
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company's operations and establishing a system of uniform standard data to be used for work measurement, 
operation control, planning and systems and method studies; performing operations reconciliations to 
determine whether specific activities at the different mobile homes generate the proposed revenues, expenses, 
costs, and profits; and performing operational research and productivity analyses aimed at increasing the 
operational efficiency and cost effectiveness of operations. The petitioner stated that the proposed duties 
required someone with at least a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field. 
The petitioner need only satisfy one of the criteria at 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A) to show that a position is a 
specialty occupation. Upon a thorough review of the record, the AAO concludes that the petitioner has 
established that its proposed position meets the criterion outlined in 8 C.F.R. §214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(4). 
Therefore, the proposed position is a specialty occupation. 
To determine whether a position qualifies as a specialty occupation, CIS looks beyond the title of the position 
and determines, from a review of the duties of the position and any supporting evidence, whether the position 
actually requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and the 
attainment of a bachelor's degree in a specific field of study as the minimum for entry into the occupation as 
required by the Act. 
The AAO routinely consults the Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook (Handbook), for 
information about the duties and educational requirements of particular occupations. After a thorough review 
of the record and the Handbook, the AAO finds that the proposed duties do not resemble those of 
management analysts. In reaching its own conclusions regarding the nature of the proposed position, the 
AAO reviewed the discussion of various management, business, and financial occupations described in the 
Handbook. The AAO finds the proposed position's duties more closely resemble the work of budget analysts, 
who use financial analysis to develop business strategies. The AAO finds that the proposed position is a 
specialty occupation under the criterion at 8 C.F.R. 6 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(4). 
The criterion at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(4) requires that the petitioner establish that the nature of the 
specific duties is so specialized and complex that the knowledge required to perform the duties is usually 
associated with the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree. The record shows that in 2003 the petitioner 
had a gross annual income of $3,985,000 and 2 1 employees. The petitioner submitted three organizational 
charts that illustrated the breadth of its business operations. The evidentiary record reveals that the 
beneficiary must understand business finance and economics and be able to provide financial strategies to 
further the petitioner's growth. This knowledge is usually associated with the attainment of a bachelor's 
degree in graphic design or a related major. As described by the petitioner, and in light of the submitted 
evidence, the proposed duties are specialized and complex, requiring knowledge that is usually associated 
with the attainment of a bachelor's or higher degree in a financial field. Accordingly, the petitioner 
establishes the fourth criterion at 8 C.F.R. 3 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
Thus, the petitioner has established that the proposed position is a specialty occupation. 
The AAO will now address whether the beneficiary is qualified for the proposed position, which requires a 
bachelor's or higher degree in a financial field. 
The record contains an educational evaluation from D a professor at Mercy College. Dr. 
is an official who has authority to grant college-level credit for training and/or experience in the 
specialty at an accredited college or university which has a program for granting such credit based on an 
individual's training and/or work experience. ~r-ludes that the beneficiary holds the equivalent of a 
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U.S. bachelor's degree in accounting. As this is a degree directly related to the pertinent specialty occupation, the 
beneficiary is qualified to serve in that occupation as required by the regulation at 8 C.F.R. $5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C) 
and (D). 
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 sustained that burden. Accordingly, the appeal will be sustained and the petition 
will be approved. 
ORDER: 
 The appeal is sustained. The petition is approved.