The Nebraska Service Center Liaison Committee assisting AILA has received several reports of denials on I-140 petitions for third preference professionals.
The Nebraska Service Center Liaison Committee has received several reports of denials on I-140 petitions for third preference professionals. These denials resulted when attorneys failed to properly distinguish the required qualifications between professionals and skilled workers on the new Form I-140 which was introduced on January 6, 2010. Prior versions of Form I-140 had only one box to check for bachelor degreed professionals and skilled workers, and did not make a distinction between the two classifications. Similarly, there is no distinction in the availability of visas as both are classified in the employment-based, third preference category. Thus, the differences between the professional with a Bachelor’s degree and a skilled worker were without a distinction prior to the introduction of the new form earlier this year.
This new form requires the petitioner to distinguish between a professional with a Bachelor’s degree and a skilled worker. Professional means a qualified alien who holds at least a United States Baccalaureate degree or a foreign equivalent degree and who is a member of the professions.
The application of this definition by NSC has resulted in the strict review of whether or not a foreign degree is the equivalent of a U.S. Bachelor’s degree and does not recognize experience as a degree’s equivalent. The ETA 9089 may establish alternative requirements that equate a pre-determined level of experience as a substitute for a degree.
This standard is similar to the second preference regulation which also requires a specific degree that is the academic equivalence to meet the requirements of the second preference (EB-2).
A denial on this issue will not preclude the filing of a second I-140 petition using the same approved PERM application but classified as a skilled worker. The cover letter and materials with a second I-140 petition should reference the first petition, include a copy of the denial, and advise NSC that the original PERM Application Form ETA 9089 can be located in the original file. The cover letter should also explain why the second petition has corrected the deficiency upon which the first petition was denied. The expiration of the Certified ETA-9089 should not preclude filing a second petition provided the first petition was filed prior to the 180-day expiration date.
A. Banerjee is a Houston immigration lawyer in Texas. Before selecting an immigration lawyer in Houston Texas, contact the Law Offices of Annie Banerjee by visiting their information filled web site at http://www.visatous.com.
