Computer Systems Analyst: Is it a Specialty Occupation?

Crackdown on H-1B petitions is no secret now. The USCIS has promulgated various guidelines and memorandums in some cases in complete contradiction of long-standing practice and interpretation of the regulations. One such issue is where the USCIS in reliance on OOH suddenly started denying petitions involving the “Computer Systems Analyst” position as not a specialty occupation.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) is a publication of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), that provides statistical guidance to the department and its agencies and works in partnership with those agencies to support their data needs. This publication describes the nature of the work, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects for a wide range of occupations. USCIS relies on OOH as an “authoritative source” on the duties and educational requirements of the wide variety of occupations.”

OOH explains that entry requirement for a Computer Systems Analyst Occupation as “[a] bachelor’s degree in a computer or information science field is common, although not always a requirement. Some firms hire analysts with business or liberal arts degrees who have skills in information technology or computer programming.” It further expands on the normal education requirements in this occupation as:

Most computer systems analysts have a bachelor’s degree in a computer-related field. Because these analysts also are heavily involved in the business side of a company, it may be helpful to take business courses or major in management information systems.

Some employers prefer applicants who have a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) with a concentration in information systems. For more technically complex jobs, a master’s degree in computer science may be more appropriate.

Although many computer systems analysts have technical degrees, such a degree is not always a requirement. Many analysts have liberal arts degrees and have gained programming or technical expertise elsewhere.

USCIS has been approving H-1B petitions for positions under this occupational code for decades. Suddenly, it decided to interpret the OOH to conclude that because many computer systems analysts have technical degrees, such degree is not always a requirement, hence, it is not a specialty occupation and it does not meet the regulatory criteria which require a bachelor’s or higher degree [in a specific specialty] or its equivalent is normally the minimum requirement for entry into the particular position.

USCIS seems to have changed the interpretation of the regulatory criteria to read and substitute the word “normally” with “always”. Without any change in the law, unexpectedly, the Computer Systems Analyst position is not a specialty occupation anymore. As a recourse, there is a surge in challenging these denials based on the interpretation that Computer Systems Analyst do not require a bachelor’s degree in a specific specialty as an entry requirement into the occupation.

There is an upwards trend in challenging these arbitrary denials in federal courts and many petitioners are succeeding in getting the denials reversed. One such decision is where the court has interpreted the language in OOH.

In Taylor Made v. USCIS[1], the USCIS denied the petition relying on OOH that many Computer Systems Analysts have a liberal arts degree and hence the occupation does not require a bachelor’s level training in a specific specialty. The court disagreed and specifically noted that “the regulatory criterion is not whether such a degree is always required, or whether some employers do not require it.” It further noted that “[t]he Handbook’s statement that a bachelor’s degree in computer or information science is “common, although not always a requirement” seems to support, rather than disprove” the regulatory requirement that a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in a specific specialty is normally the requirement for entry into a particular position.

Even though the court noted that the language in the OOH is not determinative, “it does imply that a specialized bachelor’s degree is the typical baseline requirement.” Emphasis added. The court distinguished from a contrary decision in Innova Solutions[2](although it was not a computer systems analyst position) observing that the interpretation that if the OOH suggests that some jobs in the field do not require a bachelor’s degree in a specific specialty, that would require the petitioner to provide additional evidence to distinguish its position from such positions that do not require the degree in a specific specialty. It results in imposing a higher burden on the petitioner and also questions the authoritative nature of the OOH that the USCIS relies on. The court also found that the USCIS reliance on reasoning in Innova Solutions is also not relevant because the OOH while explaining the entry requirements in the specific SOC in question, in this case, does not particularly include the “a statement that a relevant bachelor’s degree is common, although not always a requirement.”[3]

The court determined that if OOH suggests both that a specialty degree requirement is “common” and that “most” people in the position have a degree in a field related to the position, then it supports the view that the entry requirement in that occupation is “normally” a bachelor’s degree in the specific specialty. 

Another such occupation code where the USCIS relies heavily on OOH to deny petitions is the positions falling under Computer Occupations, all other. There are already some decisions on the same issue. We will see more of such denials being challenged in federal courts.

[1] Taylor Made Software Inc v. USCIS Case 1:19-cv-00202-RC (D.D.C) (decision Mar. 31, 2020).

[2] Innova Solutions, Inc. v. Baran, 399 F. Supp. 3d 1004 (N.D. Cal. 2019).

[3] Id. at footnote 5 and 6.