USCIS Policy Finds Language Immersion School May Qualify as Petitioner for Q-1 Nonimmigrant Classification | Practical Law

USCIS Policy Finds Language Immersion School May Qualify as Petitioner for Q-1 Nonimmigrant Classification | Practical Law

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a policy memorandum (PM), PM-602-0138, entitled Matter of R-C-C-S-D-, Adopted Decision 2016-04 (AAO Oct. 24, 2016). The PM clarifies that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a language immersion school as an international cultural exchange program, so that the school may petition for teachers to serve as Q-1 exchange visitors, if the school satisfies certain requirements.

USCIS Policy Finds Language Immersion School May Qualify as Petitioner for Q-1 Nonimmigrant Classification

by Practical Law Labor & Employment
Published on 07 Nov 2016USA (National/Federal)
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a policy memorandum (PM), PM-602-0138, entitled Matter of R-C-C-S-D-, Adopted Decision 2016-04 (AAO Oct. 24, 2016). The PM clarifies that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a language immersion school as an international cultural exchange program, so that the school may petition for teachers to serve as Q-1 exchange visitors, if the school satisfies certain requirements.
On October 28, 2016, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy memorandum (PM), PM-602-0138, entitled Matter of R-C-C-S-D-, Adopted Decision 2016-04 (AAO Oct. 24, 2016). The PM clarifies that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may designate a language immersion school as an international cultural exchange program, so that the school may petition for teachers to serve as Q-1 exchange visitors, if the school satisfies certain regulatory requirements.
The Q-1 classification provides nonimmigrant visas to participants in a DHS-approved international cultural exchange program, to provide practical training, employment, and the sharing of the history, culture, and traditions of their country of nationality (INA § 101(a)(15)(Q)) (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(Q)).
Under USCIS's implementing regulation (8 C.F.R. § 214.2(q)(3)(iii)), an international cultural exchange program must meet the following requirements:
  • Accessibility to the public. The international cultural exchange program must take place in a school, museum, business, or other establishment:
    • where the American public, or a segment of the public sharing a common cultural interest, is exposed to aspects of a foreign culture as part of a structured program; and
    • that is open to direct public access.
  • Cultural component. The international cultural exchange program must have a cultural component that:
    • is an essential and integral part of the international cultural exchange visitor's employment or training;
    • is designed, on the whole, to exhibit or explain the attitude, customs, history, heritage, philosophy, or traditions of the international cultural exchange visitor's country of nationality; and
    • may include structured instructional activities such as seminars, courses, lecture series, or language camps.
  • Work component. The international cultural exchange visitor's employment or training in the US:
    • may not be independent of the cultural component of the international cultural exchange program; and
    • must serve as the vehicle to achieve the objectives of the cultural component.
In the adopted decision (Matter of R-C-C-S-D), USCIS found that the petitioner's program satisfies the Q-1 regulations. In particular, USCIS found that the program met the accessibility to the public requirement because:
  • The Delaware Immersion Program website:
    • indicates that the petitioner is one of several Delaware school districts offering a Spanish immersion program and that the programs are open to all students in the state; and
    • clearly markets the host school as providing a direct opportunity for the American public to acquire Spanish language and to be immersed in Spanish culture and tradition.
  • The foreign beneficiaries will "engage in continuous culture sharing that will take place in a structured manner within the petitioner's Spanish Dual Immersion Magnet Program and its associated Q-1 Program, where a substantial portion of the participating populations inside and outside [the school district] have direct access."
  • Access to the school's cultural offerings is not limited to enrolled students. The beneficiaries assist students to prepare cultural demonstrations for special assemblies and events which are open to the students' families and the community. The beneficiaries also provide cultural lessons to students in other schools within the district.
USCIS further found that the petitioner:
  • Established that the cultural exposure will take place "as part of a structured program," for example by maintaining:
    • guidelines for its dual language immersion program, as well as curricular materials detailing the learning objectives and lesson sequence for various courses; and
    • a mission statement explaining that its dual language immersion model divides its instruction in the Delaware Recommended Curriculum between two classrooms, English and Spanish, with students' time divided between the two teachers depending upon the students' grade level.
  • Satisfies the cultural component because:
    • the program contains structured lesson plans as well as teacher statements establishing that the international cultural exchange teachers introduce students to the teachers' home country, in this instance Spain, traditional arts and crafts, games, folk songs and tales, cuisine, holidays, and other aspects of their culture; and
    • the teachers prepare cultural events and programs open to the public such as live musical performances by Spanish entertainers, therefore transmitting the culture of Spain through the performance of the beneficiaries' job duties.
  • Satisfies the work component because:
    • lesson plans for various grade levels and subjects in the record of proceedings incorporate Spanish cultural themes and demonstrate that the beneficiaries "continuously transmit Spanish culture through the performance of their job duties;"
    • the petitioner is not seeking to employ the beneficiaries solely to teach foreign language classes as part of a traditional curriculum of language instruction but rather as teachers in a dual immersion program which will "utilize curriculum and content areas as the vehicle to transmit language, culture, customs, heritage, traditions, etc. to American students" who will "learn the content areas by and through learning about Spain, Spanish history, Spanish customs, food, festivals, literature and dance;" and
    • the cultural component of the immersion program is an "essential and integral part" of the beneficiaries' work (8 C.F.R. § 214.2(q)(3)(iii)(B)-(C)).
The PM clarifies that the DHS may designate a language immersion school as an international cultural exchange program, such that the school may petition for teachers to serve as Q-1 exchange visitors. The school's program must:
  • Satisfy the following three regulatory requirements:
    • public access;
    • having a cultural component; and
    • having a work component tied to the cultural component.
  • Demonstrate in the record the duration of the program (an approved Q-1 petition is valid for the length of the program or 15 months, whichever is shorter).
For more information about the minimum requirements for Q-1 status, see Key Nonimmigrant Visa Classifications Chart.