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Explore visasEB-1CCommon RFE topics

Staffing and organization

Professional employees

Whether the subordinates a manager supervises count as 'professionals' under the rules.

What USCIS is questioning

  • High confidence Whether the subordinates' positions require at least a U.S. bachelor's degree or a foreign equivalent to enter the occupation.[1,2]
  • Whether the manager supervises professionals, or only non-professional staff as a first-line supervisor.[3]

The legal standard

  • A first-line supervisor is not treated as a manager merely because of supervisory duties, unless the employees supervised are professional (INA 101(a)(44)(A); 8 CFR 204.5(j)(4)(i)).[1,3]
  • 'Profession' includes the occupations listed in INA 101(a)(32), such as architects, engineers, lawyers, physicians and teachers, and any occupation whose minimum entry requirement is a U.S. bachelor's degree or foreign equivalent (8 CFR 204.5(k)(2)).[1,3]
  • Interpretation In recent AAO decisions, the focus is the education the position requires, not only the degree a subordinate happens to hold.[2]

How the request usually reads

  • Interpretation On this point USCIS looks at each subordinate's degree and, above all, at whether the position itself requires a bachelor's degree, so expect an RFE to ask for evidence of both.[2,4]

Evidence petitioners often provide

  • Interpretation Job postings or position descriptions stating the degree requirement, plus the subordinates' diplomas and transcripts.[2]
  • Interpretation Credential evaluations for foreign degrees showing equivalence to a U.S. bachelor's degree.[4]

Where responses go wrong

  • High confidence Relying on work experience as a substitute for a degree; in the immigrant-petition context, the AAO has not accepted experience in place of a bachelor's degree for 'profession'.[1,4]
  • Interpretation Assuming a degree holder's job is professional when the job itself doesn't require a degree.[2]

AAO decisions on this issue

This information is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not predict the outcome of any individual case.

Sources

  1. 1.8 CFR 204.5 - Petitions for employment-based immigrantseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  2. 2.AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 37676082 (June 12, 2025)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Jun 12, 2025 · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  3. 3.8 U.S.C. 1101 (INA 101) - Definitions, incl. 101(a)(15)(E), (H), (L), 101(a)(44), 101(a)(45)U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
  4. 4.AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 40831582 (Feb. 26, 2026)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Feb 26, 2026 · Checked Sep 27, 2026