Interim Decision #1489 

MATTER or WILLNEll 

In Visa Petition Proceedings 

A-13447293 

Decided by Degione Commi,seioner June 15, 1955 

Since the occupation of baker of hearth-baked breads requires the high degree 

of skill contemplated by the statute, first preference classification -under section 203(a) (1), Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, as a baker 

of Eastern European hearth-baked breads, is accorded the beneficiary of a 

visa petition, who, in addition to 3 years' apprenticeship as a baker, has an 

aggregate of more than 13 years' - experience in the baking of stub breads. 

This case is before us on appeal for the second time. The first 

denial and the dismissal of the appeal resulted in a court action by 

the petitiofier. The 'court remanded the case to the Service. The 

district director has again denied the petition. 

The petitioner is a wholesale bakery employing an average of 130 

persons, of whom about 40 are directly engaged in the production 

of bakery goods. It was established in 1930 and has annual gross 

sales of about -$2 million. 

The cake and pastry tIepartment has two ovens and the bread 

department, three ovens. Of the production, 50% is breads, 15% 

is hard rolls,' 2% is chale, and 33% is cakes and pastries. The 

largest single volume-item is hearth-baked sour rye bread. 

The petitioner desires to employ the beneficiary of this petition 

as a baker of old-faqhioned, Eastern-European, hearth baked breads 

and rolls: The petitioner states that the position requires a person 

who has had at least 5 years of experience in making such products. 

The petitioner requires a.baker to fill a, vacancy. The Bureau of 

Employment Security has certified that persons qualified to do the 

work described are not available in the United States. 

The beneficiary of this. petition, unmarried,' was born in Poland 

on April 22, 1918, and is a citizen of Israel.. He was admitted to 

the United States as a visitor on April 29, 1963. 

The beneficiary learned the bread-baking trade as a youth in 

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Poland. He served his apprenticeship at the bakery of Moses 

Greber in Sanok, Poland, from 1932 to 1935. He was then employed 

by the Mikolajewicz Bakery in Rzeszow, Poland, from 1935 to 1939 

as a baker of bread, which. included black bread, white rolls, and 

chale. During his last year in a Russian concentration camp during 

the war, he baked bread for the camp. 

Evidence has been presented- that the beneficiary was thereafter 

employed by the following bakeries. He was employed at the Ashkhabad Bakery in Ashkhabad, Russia, from July 170943 to March 

9, 1945, as a master bread baker and from March 9, 1945 to October 

10, 1946, as manager of the bakery plant_ He was employed at the 

Lithuanian Railway Bakery in Kalinigrad from May 14, 1947, to 

November 9, 1948, as manager of the bakery plant. The plant 

baked Russian bread and rolls. He was employed by the bakery of 

Warzdcha Henry at Jacmierz, Rzeszow, Poland, from January 16, 

1958, to April 1, 1960, as a baker, baking various breads, such as 

rye bread, pumpernickel, and crushed corn bread. He was employed 

by Uagalil Bakery in Safad, Israel, from August 12, 1960, to April 

9, 1963, baking 'rye bread, 'whole wheat bread, brown and dark 

breads, white bread, twists, and all kinds of European breads. 

The beneficiary had been employed in the bread depattment of 

the petitioner since August 1963 -and has been performing the duties 

Of the position. His performance has established to the petitioner's 

satisfaction that he has the required specialized experience. 

Tho district director first denied this petition on February 7, 1964_ 

He denied it on the ground that the position is not one which requires. 

the high degree of skill contemplated by the statute, because it does 

not require well-rounded baking skills, such as those involved in 

the baking of fancy cakes and pastry products. The petitioner 

appealed, and the appeal was dismissed. sea

On March 27, 1964, the petitioner filed in the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, 

a complaint to review the administrative action in this case. On 

June 19, 1964, the court remanded the cause to the district director 

for further hearing on the expertise required for the occupation of 

baker of hearth-baked breads. 

The 'general manager of the petitioning company_ testified as 

follows before an officer of this Service on September 21, 1964, and 

on March 10, 1965. The bread and rolls are referred to as hearthbaked because of their special ingredients and because they are 

baked in free form, not in pans, and are placed in, and removed 

from, the ovens manually by means of peels. The beneficiary. is 

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one of the ovenmen. In this' company, the responsibility for the 

proofing and for the baking go hand-in-hand. The 'ovenman is 

responsible for the proofing of the dough he will bake, but not for 

the mixing of the ingredients. 

The general manager also described the duties of -the position in 

detail. The duties are to observe the dough during the final proofing 

process, adjust the humidity and the temperature in the proofing 

room, and determine when the proofing process is completed; to 

apply diitinct .washes, such as egg washes, and coverings to various 

products before baking and boil the dough for bagels; to load the 

dough into the ovens on peels, spacing the dough properly; to bake 

it, evaluating the process by the color and expansion of the. dough 

and regulating the steam, temperature, and humidity accordingly, 

and determine when the product is baked; and to remove it from 

the ovens manually by means of a peel. The duties also entail 

working at the bench for an hour or two a day, shaping and 

forming dough for bread and rolls and braiding the dough for 

chale. 

The petitioner submitted the affidavits of two partn,ers -in 

Chicago bakery which produes heilyth.-baked bread and rolls common in Eastern Europe, such as rye, pumpernickel, chale, bagels, 

and onion rolls. One .partner, who has been a baker for 11 years. 

stated that it takes at least 5 years for a person to master the trade 

of making such hearth-baked bread and rolls. The other partner, 

who has been a baker for about 30 years, stated that it takes at lea ,* 

8 years. 

The Service interviewed the superintendent of baking of another 

Chicago baking company, which produces all types of breads and 

bread products, including European breads, and employs 18 openhearth bakers. He stated in an affidavit -that the company trains 

its own bakers and that it takes about 2 yeiirs to train an openhearth baker at the ovens. In his plant, the open-hearth bakers 

do not mix the dough nor proof the dough. He estimated a training 

time of 6 months to a year, each, for a dough maker and a dough 

proofer ..who has had other baking experience. 

• .Large baking plants, such as the petitioner, employ baking specialists rather than all-round bakers, although they have the general 

occupational title of bakers. The Occupational Outlook Handbook 

of the 'United States Department of Labor says that skilled workers 

in the baking industry, such as all-round bakers and baking specialists, require at least 3 or 4 years of training. 

The petitioner urgently needs the services of a baker, and it has 

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been found thatsuch worker is not available. The position requires 

specialized experience within the meaning of the statute for first 

preference under the quota. The beneficiary of the petitiou•qualifies 

for the position by his specialized. experience. His services would 

be beneficial prospectively to the economy and welfare of the United 

States. 

We conclude that the requirements of the statute for first preference under the quota have been met. Accordingly, the following 

-order will be entered. 

ORDER: It is ordered that the petition be approved. 

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