TN VISA COMPUTER SYSTEMS ANALYST APPROVAL – DEGREE IN ECONOMICS

The applicant in this case possessed a Master of Arts degree in Economics, a Bachelor of Arts degree, several systems analysis related certificates, and nearly 25-years’ experience in the field.

In the position offered, the applicant would be responsible for the analysis, quality assurance, and testing activities related to the migration of a retail store’s e-commerce systems to a new software platform. Based on the job duties, our office was confident that this position fell under the TN visa category for Computer Systems Analyst.

The main issue was whether the applicant’s credentials would be acceptable by U.S. immigration for the Computer Systems Analyst category. U.S. immigration officers (particularly those at the border i.e. USCBP) frequently require degrees specifically in the TN occupational field. For example, for a Computer Systems Analyst TN, many officers require a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. This is too restrictive of an approach, and not in line with U.S. immigration’s own guidance. For this case to be successful, we needed to outline the applicable rules, and show that a degree in Economics could qualify someone to work in Computer Systems Analyst position.

As part of this application, we prepared the following to make our case for TN eligibility: (1) regulations and memorandum stating that a specific degree in the field is not required for a TN (2) U.S. Department of Labor publications illustrating that many degrees may be appropriate for a Computer Systems Analyst position including a business degree (especially for those working in a business as opposed to a technical area); and (3) career publications confirming that an individual with a degree in Economics could qualify for a Computer Systems Analyst position.

Following review of the application at the border, USCBP approved the application.