CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER: Taekwondo Academy in Hartford, CT
BENEFICIARY: Master Level Taekwondo Coach from South Korea
Our client is a Taekwondo Academy (martial arts school) located near Harford, Connecticut. They contacted our office in late-October to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.
The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Master Level Taekwondo Coach. He has been working for the Petitioner for last three years with a valid H-1B visa. We argued that this position is a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education or its equivalent.
After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on November 8, 2013 via premium processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on November 25, 2013.
The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that a Bachelor’s degree was not required for this position. They claimed that the beneficiary’s position is not specialized and complex enough to be qualified as a specialty occupation as the law requires.
In response to the RFE, our office argued in an 5-page response brief with 8 exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree. Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. Furthermore, we included letters from experts to demonstrate that the bachelor’s degree is a minimum educational qualification for Taekwondo coach positions in the industry and illustrate the complexity of the position.
Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on December 19, 2013. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on December 24, 2013. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until December 31, 2016