Fortunately, there is no mandatory visa requirement to be eligible for the EB-1C.

Nonetheless, meeting the criteria for an L-1A visa can significantly bolster your case, as the prerequisites for L-1A closely resemble those for the EB-1C.

To qualify, you must have been employed by the same company outside the U.S. for a minimum of one year within the three years leading up to your EB-1C petition.

If you have spent the past 5 or 7 years working in the U.S. under L-1A status, you will not meet the eligibility criteria for the EB-1C.

As mentioned earlier, you need to spend at least one year working at the foreign branch of your company within the last three years.

This often implies that you will be outside the U.S. when you submit your application. However, this is not a strict rule.

Consider this example:

Jonathan serves as the Director of Sales at Homedepot Inc. He worked for one year in 2020 at a branch in his home country.

Subsequently, he moved to the U.S. under L-1A status and worked for two years.

In this scenario, Ronald qualifies to apply for an EB-1C within the U.S. since he fulfilled the requirement of one year of foreign branch employment within the past three years.

Your employer must be an affiliate, subsidiary, or branch of the same company you worked for in your home country.

In this context, your employer must engage in business in at least two countries, with one of them being the United States.

Furthermore, this U.S. branch must have been operational for a minimum of one year before your EB-1C petition.

The EB-1C category is designed for multinational executives and managers employed by multinational companies with a U.S. branch.

To qualify, you must demonstrate that your role fulfills the stipulated requirements and that you have been engaged in employment at the company’s foreign branch for a minimum of one year before submitting your petition.

EB-1C is one of the categories established by the U.S. Congress to secure immigrant status, i.e., to achieve U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence. Immigrants refer to foreign individuals permanently coming to the United States. They are also officially referred to as “Lawful Permanent Residents,” with these terms used interchangeably.

The classifications for employment-based immigrants are outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act. EB-1C, commonly known as the category for intracompany transferees who are eligible for permanent residency, enables them to work in the U.S. in managerial or executive capacities.

When a company intends to relocate an alien employee working abroad to a U.S. corporation under the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager immigrant category, a qualifying relationship between the foreign entity and the U.S. enterprise must be established.

Such a relationship exists when the U.S. company is an affiliate, parent, or subsidiary of the foreign entity. To establish this qualifying relationship, the petitioner must demonstrate that both the foreign entity and the U.S. enterprise share the same corporate structure (i.e., a U.S. entity with a foreign branch), or they are connected as parent/subsidiary or affiliates.

Ownership and control are pivotal factors in determining the existence of a qualifying relationship between the U.S. company and the foreign entity for the purposes of this visa category.

In the context of this visa application, ownership pertains to the direct or indirect legal ownership of an entity’s assets with full power and authority to govern. Control, on the other hand, signifies the direct or indirect legal right and authority to manage the establishment, control, and operations of an entity.

Additionally, the petitioner must also prove the U.S. organization’s ability to provide the beneficiary’s salary.

Key points to establish include:

• • • • • Demonstrating a qualifying relationship between the U.S. company and the foreign entity;
        • Ensuring that both the U.S. organization and the foreign entity are actively engaged in business;
        • Verifying that the U.S. employer has been actively conducting business for a minimum of 12 months

Can I apply for the EB-1C if I’ve already applied for a different green card?

Yes, there are no regulations preventing you from submitting a new petition for a different green card while another is being processed.

It is possible to simultaneously file multiple petitions for various green cards. Although this approach comes with costs, it heightens your chances of approval for at least one option and reduces processing time if your preferred choice is not approved.

The failure to meet position prerequisites often leads to complexities in the EB-1C process. As a qualifying executive, you are required to oversee the company’s operations on a significant scale.

This entails having the authority to make substantial decisions without substantial oversight and supervising a team of managers.

On the contrary, a managerial role entails supervising the work of several employees to qualify. This involves having the authority to hire, terminate, and control the salaries of a team of subordinates.

Additionally, you should determine the day-to-day activities of these employees.

Many EB-1C challenges arise when individuals with positions like individual account managers attempt to apply. Such roles do not involve the oversight of a team, despite the term “manager” in the title.

In broad terms,

For managers:

• • • • • Their responsibilities include overseeing a function or department within the organization.
        • They supervise the work of others, including hiring and firing.
        • They have control over employees’ daily activities and salaries.

For executives:

• • • • • They provide guidance to managers within the organization.
        • They make independent decisions without requiring supervision.
        • They establish company goals and formulate policies.