U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

MATTER OF S-F-S-

Non-Precedent Decision of the Administrative Appeals Office

DATE: DEC. 11, 2015

APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION

PETITION: FORM I-360, PETITION FOR AMERASIAN, WIDOW(ER), OR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT

The Petitioner seeks special immigrant status as an Iraqi national employed by the U.S. Government. See National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 § 1244, as amended (NDAA), and Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act)§§ 10l(a)(27), 203(b)(4) and 204(a)(l)(G)(i), 8 U.S.C. §§ 110l(a)(27), 1153(b)(4) and 1154(a)(l)(G)(i). The Director, Nebraska Service Center, denied the petition. The matter is now before us on appeal. The appeal will be dismissed.

The Director determined that the Petitioner did not submit all of the required supporting documentation, and did not establish eligibility for special immigrant status as an Iraqi national employed by the U.S. Government. On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional documentation, as well as previously submitted documents. For the reasons discussed below, the Petitioner has not demonstrated eligibility for the benefit sought.

I. LAW

Section 1244(b) ofthe NDAA, as amended, provides:

(1) Principal Aliens.-An alien is described in this subsection if the alien-

(A) Is a citizen or national oflraq;

(B) Was or is employed by or on behalf of the United States Government in Iraq, on or after March 20, 2003, for not less than one year;

(C) Provided faithful and valuable service to the United States Government, which is documented in a positive recommendation or evaluation, subject to paragraph (4), from the employee's senior supervisor or the person currently occupying that position, or a more senior person, if the employee's senior supervisor has left the employer or has left Iraq; and

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(D) Has experienced or is experiencing an ongoing serious threat as a consequence of the alien's employment by the United States Government.

( 4) Approval By Chief of Mission Required.-A recommendation or evaluation required under paragraph (1)(C) shall be accompanied by approval from the Chief of Mission, or the designee of the Chief of Mission, who shall conduct a risk assessment of the alien and an independent review of records maintained by the United States Government or hiring organization or entity to confirm employment and faithful and valuable services to the United States Government prior to approval of a petition under this section.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On May 30, 2014, the Petitioner filed Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, indicating that he was born in Iraq and in Part 2 that he was requesting classification as a "Special Immigrant Afghanistan or Iraq national who worked with the U.S. Armed Forces as a

The Petitioner also submitted a partial copy of a U.S. Army contractor identification, which was issued in March 2009 with an expiration of March 2010, and a

Facility Access Card with an expiration date of October 31, 2010. Further, the petitioner submitted a letter from Country HR Manager for stating that the Petitioner worked as a Batch Plant Manager at Afghanistan from October 2006 to August 2010. As there was no evidence that the Petitioner performed work as a translator for the U.S. Armed Forces, the Director determined that the Petitioner erred in his classification request and found that the Petitioner meant to file as a "Special Immigrant Iraq National who was employed by or on behalf of the U.S. Government."

On June 6, 2014, the Director issued a request for evidence (RFE) and requested the Petitioner to submit a copy of his Form I-94, Arrival Departure Record; a positive recommendation letter from the supervisor who directly supervised the Petitioner; and evidence of approval by the Chief of Mission (COM). In response, the Petitioner resubmitted the documents discussed above along with a screenshot from https:l/i94.cbp.dhs.gov and Form DS-157, Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application. The Petitioner indicated on question 12, regarding employment history, that he was employed by in Afghanistan from April 15, 2003 to August 1, 2010. The petitioner did not submit evidence of approval by the COM or a positive recommendation letter from his senior superv1sor.

On October 7, 2014, the Director denied the petition determining that the Petitioner did not submit the requested documentation; therefore the Petitioner did not establish eligibility for the benefit sought. On appeal, the Petitioner provides previously submitted documentation along with a letter from Director of Human Resources, U.S. Operations for , who stated that the Petitioner performed work as a contractor in , Iraq and Iraq. She stated

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further, however, thaHhe employment "records are no longer available." asserted that "[a] former supervisor to [the Petitioner] has confirmed his employment with ... [from] April 2004 to September 2004 and also January 2005 to October 2005; he also indicated that [the Petitioner] was a[n] asset to both projects." The Petitioner also submits an employment contract from reflecting the Petitioner's proposed employment as a batch plant manager in Afghanistan commencing on October 17, 2006.

On July 29, 2015, we issued an RFE requesting additional information regarding the Petitioner's passports and date and place of birth. The Petitioner satisfactorily responded to our request, and his response has been incorporated into the record of proceeding.

III. ANALYSIS

Pursuant to Section 1244(b)(l)(B) of the NDAA, a petitioner for classification for special immigrant status as an Iraqi national employed by the U.S. Government must have been employed by the U.S. Government in Iraq on or after March 20, 2003. In addition, section 1244(b)(1)(C) of the NDAA requires that a positive recommendation or evaluation be submitted from the petitioner's senior supervisor or the person currently occupying that position if the more senior supervisor has left the employer or Iraq. According to his Form DS-157, the Petitioner worked for in Afghanistan from April 2003 to August 201 0; the Petitioner did not indicate any employment in Iraq contrary to

letter. It is incumbent upon the petitioner to resolve any inconsistencies in the record by independent objective evidence. Any attempt to explain or reconcile such inconsistencies will not suffice unless the petitioner submits competent objective evidence pointing to where the truth lies. Matter of Ho, 19 I&N Dec. 582, 591-92 (BIA 1988). Moreover, there is no evidence that

was the Petitioner's senior supervisor or currently occupies that position. In fact, based her statements on an unnamed "former supervisor" and not on her direct knowledge

or official records of the Petitioner's employment. The Petitioner has not established that he was employed in Iraq on or after March 20, 2003, nor did he submit a positive recommendation letter from his senior supervisor or from a person currently occupying that position.

Finally, section 1244(b)(4) of the NDAA, as amended, requires approval from the COM to confirm employment and faithful and valuable services to the U.S. Government. COM approval is not optional, but requisite to special immigrant status. The Petitioner has not submitted the required approval from COM.

IV. CONCLUSION

The appeal will be dismissed for the above stated reasons, with each considered as an independent and alternate basis for the decision. In visa petition proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361; Matter ofOtiende, 26 I&N Dec. 127, 128. Here, that burden has not been met.

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Matter ofS-F-S-

ORDER: . The appeal is dismissed.

Cite as Matter ofS-F-S-, ID# 12340 (AAO Dec. 11, 2015)

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