WANG

Interim Decision #1497

MAT= OF WANG

In Visa Petition Proceedings

A-12567835

Decided by Acting Regional Commissioner July 19,'1985

Beneficiary, who possesses a master's degree in library science, is eligible for

first preference status under section 203(a) (1), Immigration and Nationality

Act, as amended, as assistant catalogue librarian in a university's inter-

nationally famous medical library since the position. duties for which her

services are requested are not subordinate but rather correspond in level of

responsibility to those of a senior librarian.

This case comes forward on appeal from the decision of the Acting

District Director, San Francisco, who on May 10, 1965, denied the

petition as follows:

The duties the beneficiary would perform as an Assistant Catalogue Librar-

IA" (classify and catalogue medical books according to a modified Library of

Congress system; also work with circulation, reference, ordering and process-

ing materials) are not complex and could be learned in a relatively short pe-

riod of time. Therefore, the-duties of the position do not meet the criteria for

first preference classification.

• The petitioner, Stanford University, is a well-established institu-

tion of higher education.' It was established in, 1885, has over 6,000

employees and a student enrollment of over 10,000 from all parts of

the United States and -foreign countries.

The petitioner seeks the services of the beneficiary to serve in the

capacity of "Assistant Catalogue Librarian" in the Lane Medical

Library School of Medicine, a division of Stanford University. In

the petition the duties of the position are described as follows:

Mrs. Wang will classify and catalogue medical books according to a moiLfied

Library of Congress system. She will also work with circulation, reference,

ordering and processing materials. Because the library is small (14 em-

ployees) she win have an opportunity to become familiar with the complete

library process, not just one department. She will have a wide variety of

experience over and above the specific department where her chief responsibil-

ity will lie.

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Interim Decision #1497

The petitioner has stated that the duties to be performed by the

beneficiary require a person with a Master of Library Science Degree.

Beneficiary is a 26-year-old married female, a native and citizen of

China. She entered the United States on February 12, 1962, as a stu-

dent and has been enrolled in the University of West Virginia, Uni-

versity of Oregon, and University of California at Berkeley in the

Graduate Division-devoted to studies in Library Science. She ob-

tained a Master of Library Science Degree from the University of

California on September 6, 1963, which was followed by 18 months of

practical training in Library Science, 6 months at San Jose State Col-

lege, San Jose, California, and 12 months at the School of Medicine

at Stanford University. Following completion of the training period

she continued her employment with petitioner as Assistant Catalogue

Librarian where she is still employed.

In the brief in support of the appeal petitioner has pointed out that

the beneficiary's responsibilities and duties are in reality -those of an

"Assistant Librarian" which should more properly be the title. of the

position for which petitioned and that the title "Assistant Librarian"

should not be confused with "Library Assistant." The Work Trait

Requirethents Handbook published by the United States Employ- ,

meat service:shows that to qualify for the position of "Library Assist-

ant," Code 1-20.01, only 6 months to 1 year of specific vocational

preparation are required, but that for the position of "Librarian,"

Code 0-23.20, from 4 to 10 years of specific vocational preparation are

required.

On March 23, 1965, the United States Employment Service, De-

partment of Libor, advised as follows: "A librarian. -must have suc-

cessfully completeci5 years of college through which a master's degree

in library science was obtained. A petition for a librarian who does

not have the required formal education must be accompanied by a

clearance-order." The Dictionary of Occupational Titles, Volume 1,

defines the term "assistant" as "a general term applied to a worker

who assists another" and goes on to state "tha same classification

should be assigned. to the worker assisted except when the duties per-

formed by the assistant are clearly subordinate to and different from

those of the worker assisted." Petitioner asserts that the duties of

beneficiary are not subordinate and that the work for which Mrs.

Wang is responsible would. correspond to the level of responsibility of

a "Librarian II" or "Senior Librarian." The Medical Library has

over 170,000 volumes, is internationally famous with demands for its

books coming from Libraries in all parts of the. United States and

foreign countries. The material is highly technical with rare serial

supplements from all over the world and in many languages. Peti-

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Interim Decision #1497

tioner states that only a person with a Master of Library Science,

Degree can perform the duties of the position. It must be concluded

that the services of the beneficiary are urgently needed because of her

high education, technical training and specialized experience and that

the beneficiary is qualified to perform the duties of the position. The

appeal will be sustained.

ORDER: It is ordered that the decision of the District Director be

revoked.

it is further ordered that the appeal be.sustained and the petition

granted.

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