EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager

The EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card category is for mid- to high-level executives or managers who transfer from a firm outside the US to an affiliated company in the US. They must also meet certain other requirements.

Eligible candidates can avoid the cumbersome PERM Labor Certification process. They can also obtain a Green Card (US permanent residence) in a relatively short period of time. The EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card is the immigrant version of the L1A Intracompany Transfer Visa.

An EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager petition requires US employer sponsorship. A prospective employer must have a “qualifying relationship” with an entity outside of the US. That qualifying relationship must continue throughout the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card petition.

EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card Category: Legal Requirements

Candidates must meet the following to qualify for the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card category:

• If outside the US, a beneficiary must have been employed by a “qualifying entity” for at least one of the 3 years prior to filing. (The US and non-US entities must have common ownership and control, such as a parent, subsidiary or sibling company.)
• If in the US and working for the same employer (or subsidiary or affiliate of the overseas employer), the candidate must have been employed by the qualifying entity abroad for at least one year in managerial or executive capacity. That one year must have occurred during the 3 years prior to entry as a nonimmigrant.
• The EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager candidate must seek entry to the US to provide managerial or executive services to the same employer or its US subsidiary or affiliate.
• The prospective US employer-petitioner must show it has been doing business for at least one year prior to filing.

Definition of Subsidiary or Affiliate for Purposes of the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card Category

Ownership and control are essential in determining the existence of a qualifying relationship between a parent company or organization and a subsidiary or affiliate for EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card petition purposes. For example, if a parent company has at least 50% ownership, or less than 50% ownership, but can show de facto control over another entity, the other entity may fit the definition of a subsidiary.

Executive or Managerial Capacity in the Context of the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card Category

A title alone does not make a candidate eligible for the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card. In evaluating eligibility, candidates should consider:

• Majority of prior and future job duties should relate to operational or policy management. They should not only relate to supervision of low-level employees or mere participation in company operations, e.g., selling products or operating equipment.
• An executive or manager should actually engage in strategic planning or directing a company’s major activities.
• An executive generally establishes overall organizational goals and policies. Lower-level managers and staff execute these goals and policies.
• A manager typically oversees other supervisory, professional or managerial employees; has hiring/firing authority; has discretion over certain daily operations; or supervises the work of others in professional or managerial positions.
• USCIS reluctantly recognizes “Functional Managers.” These oversee a particular department or function rather than managing other professional and/or high-level employees. But USCIS scrutinizes Functional Manager petitions. Therefore, these have become difficult to win.
• If an EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager directly supervises another employee or employees, s/he must have authority to hire/fire or recommend those and other personnel-related actions such as promotion and authorization for leave.
• If an EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager candidate does not directly supervise other employees, s/he must function at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy, or with respect to the function managed.
• USCIS does not consider first-line supervisors to be acting in a managerial capacity merely because they have supervisory duties. Generally, first-line or lower level supervisors will not qualify in the EB1 Multinational Executive or Manager Green Card category.