EB1-C Visa For Multinational Executives

Introduction

The EB1-C immigrant visa classification is reserved for capable and proficient executives or managers who intend to enter the United States to render services for the U.S. branch of their current multinational employer in a managerial or executive capacity. Therefore, contrary to the EB1-A category and similar to the EB1-B classification, acquiring U.S. permanent residency through the EB1-C category is contingent upon securing an employment offer with the U.S. petitioning company.

EB1-A-Documentation

Requirements

In order to be eligible for the EB1-C category, both the executive or manager, and the employer should meet certain requirements:

Foreign National

As for the foreign national, the approval of the EB1-C immigrant petition depends on the satisfaction of the following requirements:

  • The foreign national should have been employed by the parent company, overseas affiliate, branch, or subsidiary of the U.S. employer for at least one year within three years preceding the immigrant petition.
  • The foreign national’s employment with the same employer should be in a managerial or executive capacity.

U.S. Petitioning Company

The U.S. petitioning company must also comply with certain criteria to succeed in its petition on behalf of the foreign national. These criteria include:

  • The U.S. petitioning company should be conducting business in the United States for at least one year prior to the immigrant petition.
  • The U.S. petitioning company is also required to elaborate a number of issues in a separate statement attached to the immigrant petition including:
  • The nature of the services to be rendered by the foreign national in the U.S.
  • The foreign national’s job duties and responsibilities abroad
  • The period of the foreign national’s employment abroad
  • The relationship between the overseas and U.S. company, and
  • The time the U.S. company has been doing business in the U.S.

Size of the Petitioning Company

USCIS does not consider the size of the petitioning company as a significant factor when adjudicating EB1-C cases. However, the employer should be multinational and have offices in two or more countries, one of them being in the United States.

Who Qualifies as a “Manager”?

In determining whether a foreign national qualifies as a manager, several criteria are taken into consideration as follows:

  • The foreign national manages a corporation, department, or subdivision.
  • Oversees the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees.
  • Is entrusted with making personal decisions as to hiring, termination of employment, and other personnel decisions.
  • Exercises discretion over the day to day operations of the activity or function for which he or she has authority.

Note: Should first-line supervisors oversee other professionals’ work, they can be considered as “managers”. Otherwise, they would not qualify as a “manager” for EB1-C purposes.

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Who Qualifies as an “Executive”?

An “executive” is an individual who:

  • Directs the management of an organization, major component, or function.
  • Sets goals and policies.
  • Exercises wide and discretionary decision-making authority.
  • Receives general supervision from higher executives, board of directors, or stockholders.

One Year of Employment within 3 Years Preceding the Petition

As noted previously, managers or executives seeking to enter the U.S. to render services for the U.S. petitioning company, should possess at least one year of work experience at the multinational company’s foreign branch in the three years leading up to the EB1-C petition. In this regard, managers or executives can also aggregate the time they worked for the multinational company’s foreign branch to fulfill the “one year of employment” requirement.

Advantages of EB1-C Visa Category

There are a wide range of advantages inherent in the EB1-C visa classification, prompting a multitude of qualified individuals to apply for this visa category. These advantages include but are not limited to:

  • The labor certification process as a lengthy, time-consuming, and tedious process can be avoided should individuals apply for an EB1-C visa category.
  • The EB1-C visa category is current and there are no expected delays in visa issuance.
  • The premium processing option which allows the expedited adjudication of EB1-C applications is open to individuals applying under the EB1-C category.
  • There is no need to demonstrate that no qualified U.S. worker exists for the position.
  • The beneficiary’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 are eligible to obtain U.S. permanent residency through the EB1-C visa category as well.

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