sustained H-1B Case: Telecommunications

identifjling data&Ietbdto 
prevent clearly unwammted 
invasion of personal privacy 
PUBLIC COPY 
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 
20 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Rm. A3042 
Washington, DC 20529 
U. S. Citizenship 
and Imigration 
Services 
FILE: WAC 04 174 5 137 1 Office: CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER Date: MAR 2 7 
PETITION: 
 Petition for a Nonirnmigrant Worker Pursuant to Section lOl(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 5 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 materials have been returned 
to the office that originally decided your case. Any further inquiry must be made to that office. 
B2drW 
Robert P. Wiemann. mc r 
Administrative Appeals Office 
WAC 04 174 51371 
Page 2 
DISCUSSION: The service center director denied the nonirnrnigrant visa petition. The matter is now on 
appeal before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The appeal will be sustained. The petition will be 
approved. 
The petitioner is a provider of telecommunications services. It seeks to employ the beneficiary as a 
financial accountant and to extend her classification as a nonirnmigrant worker in a specialty occupation 
pursuant to section 10 l(a)(lS)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. 5 110 1 
(a>( 15>(H>(i)(b>. 
The director denied the petition on the ground that the record failed to establish that the proffered position 
qualifies as a specialty occupation. 
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. 
As provided in 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: 
(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 baccalaureate or higher degree, but one in a specific specialty 
that is directly related to the proffered position. 
The record of proceeding before the AAO contains (1) Form 1-129 and supporting documentation; (2) the 
director's request for evidence (RFE); (3) the petitioner's response to the RFE; (4) the notice of decision; 
and (5) Form I-290B and an appeal brief. The AAO reviewed the record in its entirety before issuing its 
decision. 
WAC 04 174 5 137 1 
Page 3 
In its initial submission, including Form 1-129 and an accompanying letter, the petitioner described itself 
as a telecommunications company, established in 1998, with 13 employees and gross annual income of 
$8.8 million. The petitioner indicated that it proposed to hire the beneficiary as a part-time financial 
accountant, working 27 hourslweek, and listed the duties of the job as follows: 
Make journal entries to company accounting record, maintain general ledger and bank 
reconciliation (40% of time). 
Accumulate and verify the data needed for preparation of balance sheet and income 
statements (10% of time). 
Analyze specific balance sheet data and income statement data, estimate cost and expense in 
order to improve efficiency and increase profit (15% of time). 
Process the payroll for employees biweekly, complete monthly and quarterly payroll tax 
forms (10% of time). 
Process invoice timely and accurately according to company and department policies (10% of 
time). 
= 
 Maintain and update vendor's data, closing and balancing all accounts payable at month-end, 
maintain checking account and alert management to any balance issues, and prepare financial 
report to management (15% of time). 
The minimum educational requirement for the position, the petitioner stated, is a bachelor's degree in 
accounting, finance, or a related field. The beneficiary is qualified for the job, the petitioner indicated, by 
virtue of her master of business administration (M.B.A.), with a concentration in finance, which she 
received from the University of La Verne, in La Verne, California, on August 31, 2001. The record 
shows that the beneficiary initially received H-1B classification, valid from January 28, 2003 to June 19, 
2005, pursuant to a petition filed by - in June 2002. According to the 
petitioner, the beneficiary worked 16 months for that company as a financial anal st. The petitioner 
changed employers pursuant to an H-1B extension petition filed by n October 2003. 
The petition was approved in April 2004 with a validity period of April 20,2004 to October 22,2006. 
In response to the RFE the petitioner provided a more detailed description of the proffered position, 
listing the job duties on a daily, monthly, and annual basis, as follows: 
Daily 
Review daily sales report of the front desk, inquiry the differences, and report to the CEO and 
sales managers. 
Review the daily sales, cash receipts, and cash disbursement journal and check payments and 
authorize the entry. 
Review the daily credit card report and daily sales report. Discuss the variance with credit 
card company, if necessary. 
Review daily inventory status and order inventory from vendors. Some vendors are 
Mandarin speakers. 
Track purchase, custom, and duty shares. 
WAC 04 174 51371 
Page 4 
Monthly 
Evaluate monthly performance of employees according to the company's incentive plan, 
calculate salaries, commission, bonus, income tax and social security tax withholding of 
every employee and prepare payroll checks and file monthlylquarterly payroll tax returns. 
Compile monthly financial statements, evaluate budget execution performance, follow-up and 
control of budget execution, and report the budget variances to the president. 
Perform statistical analysis over monthly product, customer, sales, and service report to the 
president. 
Review monthly sales invoices, reconcile with daily and monthly statements, and file and 
prepare monthly sales tax return. 
Evaluate employee's monthly performance, and prepare payroll checks, and explain the 
details of payroll to the company's employees. 
Design monthly sales promotion plan and schedule with the company's management, 
evaluate and analyze the cost and financial factors. 
Prepare monthly advertisement budget and plan. Prepare monthly advertisement report by 
cost and effect factors. Review and renew advertisement agreements with local TV and 
newspaper media. 
Annual 
Compile the annual financial statements. 
Design annual bonus and profit sharing plan. 
Calculate annual loyalty payment and evaluate the loyalty contract for next year. 
Prepare annual budget and analyze budget follow-up of prior year. 
Prepare annual payroll tax return for federal and state regulatory authorities. 
Review annual IRS tax return draft prepared by the company's CPA. 
Evaluate annual business liability insurance, and health policy. 
Attend annual manager meetings. Report and analyze the annual budget and actual financial 
status to executives. 
The petitioner also submitted additional documentation in response to the RFE - including its 
organizational chart; a list of its employees showing their job titles and duties, educational degrees, and 
immigration status; copies of its federal income tax return for 2002 and its state quarterly wage reports for 
the last quarter of 2003 and the first two quarters of 2004; photographs of the petitioner's business 
premises; as well as a W-2 statement and payroll check from the beneficiary's previous employer in the 
United state and a letter from its president certifying that the beneficiary was 
employed by the company as a financial accountant from October 16,2003 to May 31,2004. 
In his decision the director found that while some of the duties of the proffered position involve 
accounting tasks, as described in the Department of Labor (D0L)'s Occupational Outlook Handbook 
(Handbook), the proffered position could not be classified as an accountant position for two reasons. The 
first was that the overall duties of the position were closer to those of a bookkeeping, accounting, or 
auditing clerk, as described in the DOL Handbook. Those positions, the director pointed out, do not 
qualify as specialty occupations because they rarely require baccalaureate level education in a specific 
specialty. Noting that the petitioner's organizational chart did not identify any employee performing 
WAC 04 174 51371 
Page 5 
bookkeeping and accounting clerical duties, the director concluded that duties normally performed by 
accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing clerks "would clearly be a part of the duties of the position 
offered" and that any duties normally performed by an accountant "would only be incidental to the 
primary duties." The second reason the proffered position could not be classified as an accountant, 
according to the director, was that the petitioner is not engaged in the type of business for which an 
accountant would typically be required for any significant length of time. In this connection the director 
found that the petitioner's business operations are not of sufficient scale or complexity to require the 
services of a full- or part-time employee performing sophisticated accounting functions. The director 
concluded that the proffered position does not qualify as a specialty occupation under any of the criteria 
enumerated at 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A). 
On appeal counsel asserts that the director erred in finding that the duties of the proffered position are 
primarily those of a bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerk, rather than those of an accountant. The 
job description provided by the petitioner is fully consistent with the Handbook's description of an 
accountant, counsel contends, and the petitioner has a legitimate need for an accountant's services in view 
of its business volume, which is documented in the record. Counsel states that the beneficiary began 
working for the petitioner as a part-time accountant, under the controller (as indicated in the 
organizational chart), at the time the instant extension petition was filed in June 2004. 
In determining whether a position meets the statutory and regulatory criteria of a specialty occupation, 
CIS routinely consults the DOL Handbook as an authoritative source of information about the duties and 
educational requirements of particular occupations. Factors typically considered are whether the 
Handbook indicates a degree is required by the industry; whether the industry's professional association 
has made a degree a minimum entry requirement; and whether letters or affidavits from firms or 
individuals in the industry attest that such firms "routinely employ and recruit only degreed individuals." 
See Shanti, Inc. v. Reno, 36 F.Supp. 2d 1151, 1165 (D.Minn. 1999) (quoting Hird/Blaker Corp. v. Sava, 
712 F.Supp. 1095, 1102 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)). CIS also analyzes the specific duties and complexity of the 
position at issue, with the Handbook's occupational descriptions as a reference, as well as the petitioner's 
past hiring practices for the position. See Shanti, Inc. v. Reno, id., at 1165-66. 
The AAO determines that the duties of the proffered position accord with the general description of the 
accounting occupation in the Handbook, 2006-07 edition: 
Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the Nation's firms are run efficiently, its 
public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They perform 
these vital functions by offering an increasingly wide array of business and accounting 
services, including public, management, and government accounting, as well as internal 
auditing, to their clients. Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation - 
preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information 
to clients - many accountants now are required to possess a wide range of knowledge and 
skills. Accountants and auditors are broadening the services they offer to include budget 
analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and 
limited legal services. 
WAC 04 174 51371 
Page 6 
As further explained in the Handbook there are four major fields of accounting - public, management, 
government, and internal auditors - of which management accountant best describes the proffered 
position in this petition. 
Management accountants - also called cost, managerial, industrial, corporate, or private 
accountants - record and analyze the financial information of the companies for which 
they work. Among their other responsibilities are budgeting, performance evaluation, 
cost management and asset management. Usually, management accountants are part of 
executive teams involved in strategic planning or the development of new products. 
They analyze and interpret the financial information that corporate executives need to 
make sound business decisions. They also prepare financial reports for nonmanagement 
groups, including stockholders, creditors, regulatory agencies, and tax authorities. 
Within accounting departments, management accountants may work in various areas, 
including financial analysis, planning and budgeting, and cost accounting. 
Id. 
 Based on the entire record - including documentation of the petitioner's employee roster and 
organizational structure, the volume of business it transacts (the 2002 federal income tax return records 
gross receipts of $8,836,267 that year), and the specificity of the accounting duties described by the 
petitioner, the AAO is persuaded that the beneficiary will be performing the services of an accountant in 
the proffered position. 
The Handbook states that most accountant positions require at least a bachelor's degree in accounting or a 
related field. The AAO determines that the proffered position qualifies as a specialty occupation under 
8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(A)(I). 
As provided in 8 C.F.R. 5 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C), the beneficiary must meet one of the following criteria to 
qualify to perform services in a specialty occupation: 
(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. 
The record includes copies of the beneficiary's educational degree and transcript showing that she earned 
an M.B.A. with a concentration in finance from the University of La Verne, in Laverne, California, on 
.. . 
WAC 04 174 51371 
Page 7 
August 31, 2001. Based on this foregoing documentation the AAO determines that the beneficiary is 
qualified under 8 C.F.R. 3 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(C)(I) to perform the services of the pertinent specialty 
occupation - an accountant. 
Thus, the record establishes that the proffered position is a specialty occupation and that the beneficiary is 
qualified to perform the services of that occupation. 
ORDER: 
 The appeal is sustained. The petition is approved.