sustained L-1B Case: Engineering

MATTER OF H-P-S-, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: SEPT. 11, 2018 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a manufacturer and wholesaler of industrial power generators, seeks to temporarily 
employ the Beneficiary as a "Senior Product Development Engineer - R&D" under the L-1 B 
nonimmigrant classification for intracompany transferees. Immigration and Nationality Act (the 
Act) § 101(a)(15)(L), 8 U.S.C. § 110l(a)(15)(L). The L-lB classification allows a corporation or 
other legal entity (including its affiliate or subsidiary) to transfer a qualifying foreign employee with 
"specialized knowledge" to work temporarily in the United States. 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did 
not establish, as required, that the Beneficiary possesses specialized knowledge, that he was 
employed abroad in a capacity that was managerial, executive, or involved specialized knowledge, 
or that he would be employed in a specialized knowledge capacity in the United States. 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the Director overlooked key evidence and that the denial 
decision was factually flawed, improperly reasoned, and did not apply the preponderance of the 
evidence standard to the case. 
Upon de nova review, we will sustain the appeal. 
A beneficiary is considered to be serving in a capacity involving specialized knowledge with respect to 
a company if the beneficiary has special knowledge of the company product and its application in 
international markets or has an advanced level of knowledge of processes and procedures of the 
company. Section 214(c)(2)(B) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § l 184(c)(2)(B). 
The Beneficiary has been employed by the Petitioner's parent company as a product development 
engineer for more than one year and the record establishes that he was required to complete at least 750 
hours of internal training followed by months of supervised on-the-job experience in the company's 
products, manufacturing processes, research and development and prototyping techniques, and 
proprietary digital control technologies prior to receiving a promotion to this position. The Petitioner 
has submitted detailed, consistent, and credible descriptions of his training and experience which show 
how he gained specialized knowledge in these areas which could not be readily transferred to another 
employee in the Petitioner's industry, is distinct in comparison to that possessed by other product 
development engineers within the foreign company, and is advanced compared to that possessed by the 
Matter of H-P-S-, Inc. 
Petitioner's current U.S.-based engineers. The Petitioner has also explained and documented the 
Beneficiary's special assignments, which included developing a method to streamline the design and 
prototyping process for new products, and performing ongoing research and development of the 
company's products to meet increasingly stringent environmental emissions standards. The Petitioner 
described in detail why the Beneficiary's prior assignments make him uniquely qualified to undertake 
the offered position in the United States. 
Further, the record sufficiently demonstrates that the proposed position in the United States requires 
an employee who possesses the Beneficiary's specialized knowledge of the company's products, 
research and development processes, and manufacturing techniques. The Petitioner has explained 
and documented the imminent expansion of its U.S. manufacturing capabilities, which will require 
the deployment of new equipment and machinery currently used by its foreign parent company, 
extensive research and development work associated with the introduction of a new product line, re­
design of existing products to comply with new U.S. emissions standards, and the training of new 
U.S. staff who will be hired to support these increased manufacturing and product development 
activities. It has shown that the Beneficiary's specialized knowledge, gained within the foreign 
parent's headquarters, will be instrumental to the U.S. company's expansion efforts. 
The Petitioner has established that the Beneficiary possesses specialized knowledge, and that he has 
been and will be employed in positions requiring specialized knowledge. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of H-P-S-Inc., ID# 1805376 (AAO Sept. 11, 2018) 
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