Interim Decision *1872 

MATITA{ OF WU 

In Visa. Petition Proceedings 

A-17118329 

Decided by District Director January 29, 1968 

The qualified beneficiary of a visa petition filed by a non-profit community organization desiring his services as a medical doctor is accorded preference classification under section 203(a) (6) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

amended, as a physician, since the petitioning organization, even though it 

will not be paying beneficiary a salary, desires "to employ" him within the 

meaning of section 204 of the Act. 

Discussion: The petitioner, Darlington Hospital Guild, Darrington, Washington, is anon-profit community organization, incorporated 

in 1958 under the laws of the State of Washington. The Guild is governed by a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and three 

trustees. The organization was chartered to recruit a medical doctor to 

serve the community of 3,500 persons. The first medical doctor practiced a short time before leaving the community. The charter was then 

amended to provide for the recruiting of additional doctors whenever 

need arose. 

At the present time there is no medical doctor in the community. All 

attempts to recruit a medical doctor have been unsuccessful. The petitioner has established that advertisements were placed in medical journals, inquiries were directed to medical schools, and the Sears Foundation was contacted without success. 

The community is 27 miles, by rough mountain roads, from the 

nearest community having medical doctors and a hospital. In the 

winter months the area is sometimes covered by as much as six feet of 

snow, making travel to the nearest doctor or hospital a dangerous and 

sometimes impossible undertaking. 

The principle industry in the area is logging, a hazardous occupation. 

Serious accidents occur all too often in this work and immediate medi-

• cal care frequently means the difference between life and death. In the 

summer months, the area is a mecca for tourists and campers and medical care is often required in emergencies as a result of automobile and 

other accidents. The community plainly has an urgent need for the 

services of a medical doctor. 

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Interim .vecision 

Following incorporation, the petitioning agency secured a $50,000 

mortgage and constructed a. modern medical facility for use by medical 

doctors agreeing to serve the area. The mortgage is now $28,000. Funds 

to retire the mortgage and to pay other Guild expenses are received 

from community-wide fund raising events. 

Section 204, Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, reads as 

follows : 

. . . or any person desiring and intending to employ within the United States 

an alien entitled to classification as a preference immigrant under section 203 

(a) (6), may file a petition with the Attorney General for such classification. 

The phrase "any person desiring and intending to employ within the 

United States", must be interpreted. 

The petitioner has stated beneficiary will not be paid a salary by the 

Guild. Patients will pay the beneficiary directly for services rendered. 

The prior medical doctor grossed $36,000 annually and was employed 

full-time. 

A. determination must be made whether "employment" as contemplated by section 204 of the Act exists in this case. There are no precedent decisions analogous to this situation since amendment of the 

Immigration and Nationality Act. However, in the Matter of Young, 

Int. Dec. No. 1425, In Visa Petition Proceedings, decided Stepember 8, 

1964, it was held that under the prior statute, the village of DeWitt, 

Michigan, was an eligible petitioner for the services of a dentist. Under 

the prior, statute (section 203 (a) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) the clause "desiring and intending to employ" did not appear. It was necessary, however, to establish "an urgent need" for the 

services of the beneficiary. The Matter of roam, (supra) established 

that a non-profit community organization may petition under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defines "employ" as meaning: 

To make use of; to use; to make use of the services of; to occupy; devote; as, 

to employ time in study: 

Employ, hire here means to engage for work Employ, however, stresses the use 

of a person's services; hire the act of engaging a person's services for 

compensation. 

The Darrington Hospital Guild desires to make use of the services 

of the beneficiary as outlined in the definition of "employ" appearing 

in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary. No mention is made in the 

dictionary or in section 204 of the Act as to the source or amount of 

remuneration. The requirements of section 204 of the Immigration and 

Nationality Act, as amended, have been satisfied. 

Section 203(a) (6) of the Act, reads in part as follows: 

Visas shall next be made available. In a number not to exceed 10% ... to qualified immigrants who are capable of performing specified skilled or unskilled labor, 

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Interim Decision #1872 

not of a temporary or seasonal nature, for which a shortage of employable and 

willing persons exists in the United States. 

The beneficiary meets the qualifications set forth in section 203 (a) 

(6) of the Act and on Form 1-140, Petition to Classify Preference 

Status of Alien on Basis of Profession or Occupation. The beneficiary 

received a doctor of medicine degree in June 1928 from University of 

Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia. He received specialized training 

in surgery from 1941 to 1945 at Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota, and attended the University of Pennsylvania from 1956 to 1957 

where he received training in the internal medicine field. He also attended Harvard Medical School for nine months during 1957-1958, for 

specialized courses in cardiovascular disease treatment. He has been 

licensed to practice as a medical doctor in Taiwan. 

The petitioner has established that the beneficiary is a skilled por 

son, coming to the United States to fill a position not of a temporary or 

seasonal nature, and that there is a shortage of such qualified persons 

in this country. Therefore, the requirements of section 203 (a) (6) of 

the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, have been satisfied. 

The beneficiary qualifies under the blanket labor certification issued 

by the Department of Labor in Group I, Schedule A, 29 CFR, Part 

60, as a person having an advanced degree. The beneficiary, therefore, 

meets the requirements of section 212 (a) (14) of the Act. 

The evidence clearly establishes that the petitioning agency has 

complied with all the requirements of section 203(a) (6) and section 

204 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. It has been 

further established that the beneficiary has the necessary qualifications 

to fill the position. The petition, will, therefore, be approved. 

ORDER: Ifis ordered that the petition be and the same is hereby 

approved. 

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