Degree or an Alien of Exceptional Ability Pursuant to Section 203(b )(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 O.S.C. § 1153(b)(2)
ON BEHALF OF PETITIONER:
INSTRUCTIONS:
Enclosed please find the decision of the Administrative Appeals Office in your case. All of the documents related to this matter have been returned to the office that originally decided your case. Please be advised that any fmther inquiry that you might have concerning your case must be made to that office.
If you believe the AAO inappropriately applied the law in reaching its decision, or you have additional information that you wish to have considered, you may file a motion to reconsider or a motion to reopen in accordance with the instructions on Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, with a fee of $630. The specific requirements for filing such a motion can be found at 8 C.P.R. § 103.5. Do not file any motion directly with the AAO. Please be aware that 8 C.P.R.§ 103.5(a)(l)(i) requires any motion to be filed within 30 days of the decision that the motion seeks to reconsider or reopen.
Thank you,
66.ni�rg
Chief, Administrative Appeals Office www.uscis.gov
NON-PRECEDENTDEC�JON
DISCUSSION: The Director, Texas Service Center (the director) denied the immigrant visa petition and the matter is now before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) on appeal. The appeal will be summarily dismissed as abandoned pursuant to 8 C.P.R.§ 103.2(b)(13)(i).
The petitioner describes itself as a wholesale jeweler. It seeks to permanently employ the beneficiary in the United States as a designer pursuant to section 203(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2).1 The petition is accompanied by a labor certification approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The director's decision denying the petition concluded that the beneficiary does not hold a U.S. degree above a baccalaureate and the labor certification did not indicate that a foreign degree equivalent would be acceptable The record shows that the appeal is properly filed, timely and makes a specific allegation of error in law or fact. The procedural history in this case is documented by the record and incorporated into the decision. Further elaboration of the procedural history will be made only as necessary.
We conduct appellate review on a de novo basis. See Soltane v. DOJ, 381 F.3d 143, 145 (3d Cir. 2004). We consider all pertinent evidence in the record, including new evidence properly submitted upon appeal. 2
On September 26, 2014, we sent the petitioner a request for evidence (RFE) with a copy to counsel of record. We noted that the petitioner relied on the beneficiary's bachelor's degree as being the foreign equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree but that the labor certification indicated that it would not accept a foreign equivalent degree. We requested that the petitioner submit any evidence that it intended the labor certification to include a single foreign equivalent degree, as that intent was explicitly and specifically expressed during the labor certification process to the DOL and to potentially qualified U.S. workers. We also requested the petitioner's annual reports, federal tax returns, or audited financial statements for 2013. The RFE allowed the petitioner 45 days in which to submit a response. We informed the petitioner that failure to respond to the RFE would result in a dismissal of the appeal. As of the date of this decision, the petitioner has not responded to our RFE. The failure to submit requested evidence that precludes a material line of inquiry shall be grounds for denying the petition. See 8 C.F .R. § 103 .2(b )(14 ). Since the petitioner failed to respond to the RFE, the appeal will be summarily dismissed as abandoned pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(b)(13)(i).
In visa petition proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter ofOtiende, 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128 (BIA 2013). Here, that burden has not been met.
ORDER: The appeal is summarily dismissed.