Degree or an Alien of Exceptional Ability Pursuant to Section 203(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.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 further inquiry that you might have concerning your case must be made to that office .
Thank you,
L,/(f, ,,
Ron Rosenberg
Chief, Administrative Appeal s Office www.uscis.gov
DISCUSSION: The employment-based immigrant visa petition was denied by the Director, Texas Service Center (Director). It is now on appeal before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The director's decision will be withdrawn and the appeal will be sustained.
The petitioner describes itself as an application development and integration company . It seeks to permanently employ the beneficiary in the United States as a Software Engineer pursuant to section 203(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(2). 1 As required by statute, the petition is accompanied by an Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, certified by the United States Department of Labor (DOL) .
The Director denied the petition on February 3, 2014, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that the beneficiary had the requisite educational degree for classification as an advanced degree professional.
The petitioner filed a timely appeal, along with a brief from counsel and supporting documentation . We conduct appellate review on a de novo basis. See Soltane v. DOJ, 381 F.3d 143, 145 (3d Cir. 2004)~
Section 203(b )(2) of the Act provides for the granting of preference classification to members of the professions holding advanced degrees whose services are sought by employers in the United States. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(k)(3)(i) states that a petition for an advanced degree professional must be accompanied by:
(A) An official academic record showing that the alien has a United States advanced degree or a foreign equivalent degree; or
(B) An official academic record showing that the alien has a United States baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree, and evidence in the form of letters from current or former employer(s) showing that the alien has at least five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience in the specialty.
To be eligible for approval, a beneficiary must have all the education, training, and experience specified on the labor certification as of the petition's priority date. See Matter of Wing's Tea House, 16 I&N 158 (Act. Reg. Comm. 1977). The petitioner must also establish its continuing ability to pay the proffered wage to the beneficiary from the priority date up to the present. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(g)(2). The priority date of the instant petition is July 18, 2012, which is the date the underlying labor certification was accepted