Success in EB-1C Multinational Manager or Executive applications requires meeting specific requirements related to corporate relationships, employment history, and job responsibilities that distinguish multinational executives and managers from other business professionals.

  • Qualifying Corporate Relationship: The U.S. and foreign entities must have a qualifying relationship as parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch, with common ownership or control demonstrating a genuine multinational enterprise.
  • U.S. Company Operation: The U.S. entity must have been actively conducting business for at least one year before filing the EB-1C petition, demonstrating established operations and legitimate business activities.
  • Foreign Employment Experience: The individual must have worked for the qualifying foreign entity in an executive or managerial capacity for at least one continuous year during the three years preceding your transfer to the United States.
  • Executive or Managerial Role: The position with both the foreign and U.S. entities must meet USCIS definitions of executive or managerial functions, with appropriate authority and responsibilities (legal criteria appears below).
  • Permanent Job Offer: You must have a permanent job offer from the U.S. entity for a position that qualifies as executive or managerial, demonstrating the long-term nature of the transfer.

Qualifying Entity. In U.S. immigration, multinational companies are those involving at least two offices in two countries where both entities have an operating enterprise. Our firm will help you understand whether your company qualifies for a multinational corporate sponsorship of an individual in the Multinational Manager or Executive categories.  The company for which the employee has worked abroad must be related to the U.S. company in a specific manner – the company abroad must be the same employer such as a branch office, a parent company, a subsidiary or legal affiliate of the U.S. company.  The meaning of these terms is quite complex and the specific relationship of the companies must be considered on a case by case basis, but the general rule is that one company that is party to the transfer must have “effective ownership” of the other company (50% or more ownership) – OR both must be “effectively controlled” by the same third company, individual, or group of individual shareholders.  Essentially, the US and foreign organization must be related as parent-subsidiary, affiliates, branch office or joint-venture.

Throughout the entire US period of employment, the companies (the US and foreign transferring entities) must continue to doing business in the United States and one other country. 

Position.  To be a qualifying EB-1C Manager or Executive, the employee must already be a manager and be coming to the U.S. company to fill the role of executive or manager.  L-1B Specialized Knowledge employees do not qualify and have to engage in the Labor Certification process for a green card instead. The employee must be qualified for the position by virtue of his prior education and experience.  One year of full-time experience as a manager or executive, off US soil, is required before transfer.  That one year of employ with the foreign affiliate must have occurred within the prior three years. 

The employee must have worked abroad for the overseas company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years before he may be transferred to the related U.S. company.  That one year could be spent traveling into the US, but 365 days of it must have been spent off US soil.  

Filing the Case.  After extensive preparation, an I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker as a Multinational Manager is filed on behalf of the person with USCIS at a Regional Center (+ I-485 green card clearance papers, or a later green card through the U.S. consulate)

Beforehand, our firm always considers other green card options like utilizing the Labor Certification to test the US market response to a job-type before submission of an I-140. Doing a Labor Cert remains as a fallback if an I-140 Multinational Manager petition has any problems.

Other Considerations.  Handling a multinational manager or executive case is clear but needs to be handled by an expert who has experience with either the large multinational corporations like our law firm represents.  Or it requires the complex strategic abilities of a small business immigration lawyer who can work with business lawyers to thread together entities to make a multinational corporation that serves as a vehicle for a U.S. transfer.  Our firm will work with you and your business lawyers (corporate and tax) to help organize the segments of the case that need alignment in order to properly paper a case.  The only area that is difficult to maneuver is the level of rigorous evidence needed to prove one is an executive or manager (overseeing other people or a major company function).  USCIS makes multinational manager cases extremely difficult for smaller companies. 

MULTINATIONAL MANAGER — REGULATORY CRITERIA.   Information about managerial job duties, daily/weekly/monthy/yearly is described to USCIS allocated across the following regulatory criteria. Some of the criteria overlaps. The LEGAL CRITERIA requires showing the person:

  1. Manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization.
  2. Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees; or manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization.
  3. Has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those as well as other personnel actions … OR functions at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed if no other employees are supervised.
  4. Exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity and exercises discretion over the function for which the employee has authority. (A first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity merely by virtue of the supervisor’s supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are professional.)

Proof of managerial status includes evidence like

  • Org Charts – dated & titled, listing
  1. Current Position: ORG Chart(s) of the people two levels above you + two levels below you.
  2. US/Future Position: ORG Chart(s) of people two levels above you + two levels below.
  • Proof that the employee will delegate to subordinates. Suggestions:
  1. Information about Key Laterals or Subordinates (resumes & Job Function Sheets)
  2. Any emails approving employee requests. Regarding work product, or time-off.
  3. Any emails with prospective employees. [proves hiring/firing, a regulatory proof that US immigration likes for L-1A managers]
  4. Documentation of payroll for direct reports.
  5. Anything else showing the employee listed as leader of a group activity or function for the company in an Itinerary, a Presentation, training sessions.

MULTINATIONAL EXECUTIVES — REGULATORY CRITERIA.  Executives must direct the management of the organization or a major component, establish goals and policies, exercise wide latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receive only general supervision from higher-level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders. True executives focus on strategic leadership rather than day-to-day operational tasks. Unfortunately, smaller companies find their executives handling a lot of day-to-day activities and USCIS tends to take a very negative view of this practical reality. Delegate to a layer or managers below an executive whenever possible, and be able to document it so that only strategic work is left for the top layer executive who is seeking an EB-1C Multinational Executive employment-based green card.

Mulitinational Company Sponsorships

Success in EB-1C Multinational Manager or Executive applications requires meeting specific requirements related to corporate relationships, employment history, and job responsibilities that distinguish multinational executives and managers from other business professionals.

  • Qualifying Corporate Relationship: The U.S. and foreign entities must have a qualifying relationship as parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch, with common ownership or control demonstrating a genuine multinational enterprise.
  • U.S. Company Operation: The U.S. entity must have been actively conducting business for at least one year before filing the EB-1C petition, demonstrating established operations and legitimate business activities.
  • Foreign Employment Experience: The individual must have worked for the qualifying foreign entity in an executive or managerial capacity for at least one continuous year during the three years preceding your transfer to the United States.
  • Executive or Managerial Role: The position with both the foreign and U.S. entities must meet USCIS definitions of executive or managerial functions, with appropriate authority and responsibilities (legal criteria appears below).
  • Permanent Job Offer: You must have a permanent job offer from the U.S. entity for a position that qualifies as executive or managerial, demonstrating the long-term nature of the transfer.

Qualifying Entity. In U.S. immigration, multinational companies are those involving at least two offices in two countries where both entities have an operating enterprise. Our firm will help you understand whether your company qualifies for a multinational corporate sponsorship of an individual in the Multinational Manager or Executive categories.  The company for which the employee has worked abroad must be related to the U.S. company in a specific manner – the company abroad must be the same employer such as a branch office, a parent company, a subsidiary or legal affiliate of the U.S. company.  The meaning of these terms is quite complex and the specific relationship of the companies must be considered on a case by case basis, but the general rule is that one company that is party to the transfer must have “effective ownership” of the other company (50% or more ownership) – OR both must be “effectively controlled” by the same third company, individual, or group of individual shareholders.  Essentially, the US and foreign organization must be related as parent-subsidiary, affiliates, branch office or joint-venture.

Throughout the entire US period of employment, the companies (the US and foreign transferring entities) must continue to doing business in the United States and one other country. 

Position.  To be a qualifying EB-1C Manager or Executive, the employee must already be a manager and be coming to the U.S. company to fill the role of executive or manager.  L-1B Specialized Knowledge employees do not qualify and have to engage in the Labor Certification process for a green card instead. The employee must be qualified for the position by virtue of his prior education and experience.  One year of full-time experience as a manager or executive, off US soil, is required before transfer.  That one year of employ with the foreign affiliate must have occurred within the prior three years. 

The employee must have worked abroad for the overseas company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years before he may be transferred to the related U.S. company.  That one year could be spent traveling into the US, but 365 days of it must have been spent off US soil.  

Filing the Case.  After extensive preparation, an I-140 Petition for Immigrant Worker as a Multinational Manager is filed on behalf of the person with USCIS at a Regional Center (+ I-485 green card clearance papers, or a later green card through the U.S. consulate)

Beforehand, our firm always considers other green card options like utilizing the Labor Certification to test the US market response to a job-type before submission of an I-140. Doing a Labor Cert remains as a fallback if an I-140 Multinational Manager petition has any problems.

Other Considerations.  Handling a multinational manager or executive case is clear but needs to be handled by an expert who has experience with either the large multinational corporations like our law firm represents.  Or it requires the complex strategic abilities of a small business immigration lawyer who can work with business lawyers to thread together entities to make a multinational corporation that serves as a vehicle for a U.S. transfer.  Our firm will work with you and your business lawyers (corporate and tax) to help organize the segments of the case that need alignment in order to properly paper a case.  The only area that is difficult to maneuver is the level of rigorous evidence needed to prove one is an executive or manager (overseeing other people or a major company function).  USCIS makes multinational manager cases extremely difficult for smaller companies. 

MULTINATIONAL MANAGER — REGULATORY CRITERIA.   Information about managerial job duties, daily/weekly/monthy/yearly is described to USCIS allocated across the following regulatory criteria. Some of the criteria overlaps. The LEGAL CRITERIA requires showing the person:

  1. Manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization.
  2. Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees; or manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization.
  3. Has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those as well as other personnel actions … OR functions at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed if no other employees are supervised.
  4. Exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity and exercises discretion over the function for which the employee has authority. (A first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity merely by virtue of the supervisor’s supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are professional.)

Proof of managerial status includes evidence like

  • Org Charts – dated & titled, listing
  1. Current Position: ORG Chart(s) of the people two levels above you + two levels below you.
  2. US/Future Position: ORG Chart(s) of people two levels above you + two levels below.
  • Proof that the employee will delegate to subordinates. Suggestions:
  1. Information about Key Laterals or Subordinates (resumes & Job Function Sheets)
  2. Any emails approving employee requests. Regarding work product, or time-off.
  3. Any emails with prospective employees. [proves hiring/firing, a regulatory proof that US immigration likes for L-1A managers]
  4. Documentation of payroll for direct reports.
  5. Anything else showing the employee listed as leader of a group activity or function for the company in an Itinerary, a Presentation, training sessions.

MULTINATIONAL EXECUTIVES — REGULATORY CRITERIA.  Executives must direct the management of the organization or a major component, establish goals and policies, exercise wide latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receive only general supervision from higher-level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders. True executives focus on strategic leadership rather than day-to-day operational tasks. Unfortunately, smaller companies find their executives handling a lot of day-to-day activities and USCIS tends to take a very negative view of this practical reality. Delegate to a layer or managers below an executive whenever possible, and be able to document it so that only strategic work is left for the top layer executive who is seeking an EB-1C Multinational Executive employment-based green card.

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