Date of Decision: October 5, 2020
Service Center: Nebraska Service Center
Form Type: Form I-140
Case Type: EB-1C (Multinational Managers or Executives)
Field of Expertise: Cosmetics Manufacturing
Beneficiary Information
Profession: Manager and Principal Scientist
Field: Cosmetics Manufacturing
Nationality: Not specified
Summary of Decision
Initial Decision: Denied
Appeal Outcome: Remanded
Case Overview
The petitioner, a cosmetics manufacturer, filed an EB-1C petition to permanently employ the beneficiary as a manager and principal scientist. The EB-1C classification is intended for multinational executives or managers, requiring the beneficiary to have been employed in a managerial or executive capacity outside the United States for at least one year within the three years preceding the petition. The petitioner sought this classification to facilitate the beneficiary’s continued employment in the United States.
Key Issues
The key issue in this case was the petitioner’s failure to establish a qualifying relationship between the U.S. employer and the beneficiary’s foreign employer. The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition based on this ground, concluding that the petitioner did not demonstrate that the beneficiary’s foreign employer continued to exist as a legal entity with a qualifying relationship to the U.S. employer at the time of the petition filing.
USCIS Findings
The USCIS Director found that the petitioner did not establish the required qualifying relationship, citing the dissolution of the beneficiary’s foreign employer as a legal entity prior to the petition filing. The decision referenced the regulations requiring that the foreign employer and the U.S. employer be the same entity or related as parent and subsidiary or affiliates. The director noted that since the foreign employer ceased to exist as a separate legal entity in 2016, it could not have had a qualifying relationship with the petitioner in 2019.
Supporting Evidence
The petitioner provided evidence of a corporate restructuring, where the foreign entity was dissolved and absorbed by another entity within the same multinational organization. This evidence was considered crucial in understanding the continuity of the business operations and the relationship between the U.S. employer and the foreign entity. The recent USCIS adopted decision in Matter of F-M- Co. provided guidance on evaluating such corporate restructuring and its impact on the qualifying relationship, which was not available at the time of the initial decision.
Additional Notes
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) acknowledged that the adopted decision Matter of F-M- Co. offered new guidance on how to handle cases involving corporate restructuring. This guidance was considered pivotal in remanding the case for a new decision, as it provided a framework for evaluating whether the successor entity in a corporate merger or restructuring could maintain a qualifying relationship with the U.S. employer.
Conclusion
Final Determination: The initial denial was withdrawn, and the case was remanded for further review and a new decision consistent with the updated guidance provided by the AAO.
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