Employer’s Documentation

• Articles of incorporation or association, and business license
• Application for EIN (Form SS-4)
• Stock certificates
• Lease of business location
• Bank statement or wire transfer evidencing initial investment
• Audited accounting reports (e.g., balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow reports)
• Income tax filings for the three years prior to filing
• Corporate income tax return (Form 1120), if any
• Quarterly report (Form 941), if any
• Description of company business
• Commercial contracts, invoices, bills of lading, and letters of credit
• Several sheets of company letterhead, including the company’s logo, name, and address
• Organizational chart showing company structure, the company’s total number of employees, the position to be held by the transferee, and the company’s plans to expand (e.g., acquire new employees)
• Pictures of the main office, interior and exterior, and the company’s other buildings, if such photos are not included in a company brochure or product introduction
• Documents verifying the foreign affiliate

Employee’s Documentation

• Resume
• Diploma
• Passport
• Valid visa to the United States (within three years)
• Employment verification letter from the foreign affiliate
• Board resolution or other business documents verifying the company’s decision to transfer the employee
• Any other documents demonstrating the transferee’s ability to conduct business in an executive or managerial position

The updated filing fee for EB-1C can be found here.

To fulfill the first requirement, the applicant must be:

1. Employed outside the U.S. for at least 1 out of the 3 years immediately before filing the petition.  This company must be still running during the petition.
2. This past employment must have a Qualifying Relationship with the intended U.S. employer.
3. Intended U.S. company must have been doing business for at least one year.

Requirements to show a Qualifying Relationship:

1. Common Ownership: One company must have a legal right of possession and full power over the other business entity.
2. Effective Control: One company must have the right and authority to direct the management and operations of the other business entity.
3. Multinational Organization: The two companies must conduct business in two or more countries, one of which is the United States.
4. A Branch, Parent, Subsidiary, or Affiliate of the foreign company.

A branch is operating division or office of the same company in a different location.

A parent are companies that own majority stock and therefore have control over another company, which then becomes a subsidiary. Either the U.S. Company or Foreign Company can be the parent and the other the subsidiary.

A subsidiary is a firm, corporation, or other legal entity of which a parent owns, directly or indirectly, more than half of the entity and therefore has control of; or, owns directly or indirectly half of the entity and controls the entity; or owns 50% of a 50/50 joint venture and has equal control and veto power over the entity as the other half of ownership; or, owns less than half of the entity, but in fact controls the entity.

An affiliate is an entity owned and controlled by the same group of individuals who own about the same shares of each entity can be considered affiliates.  Example: Group A owns 51% of both Company X and Company Y shares. Therefore, Company X and Company Y are affiliates.

• However, if it is an accounting firm:
  • Separate partnerships that are internationally considered affiliates can also fulfill this requirement.
  • Entities that market under the same name can be considered affiliates.

Doing Business for At Least 1 Year

If the intended company is a new office, and the applicant is being sent over to open said office, then proof of ownership, control, and financial ability should be established.

What does not count:

• Does not include the mere presence of an agent or office.
• Business may not be prospective for start-up operations and new offices.

To prove Doing Business, some of the evidence may include, but is not limited to:

A statement from an authorized official of your organization which indicates that you have been doing business for at least one year.

Documents to show you were doing business for at least one year before you filed the petition, and continue to do business. Evidence may include, but is not limited to, documents showing you:

• Legally formed your organization and it is currently authorized to do business, such as copies of your:
  • Articles of incorporation
  • Operating agreement
  • Partnership agreement
  • Local business license; and/or
  • Certificate of good standing
• Acquired and retain the necessary facilities, equipment, and staff to do business, such as copies of:
  • Leases for business premises
  • Purchase agreements
  • Your federal income tax returns
  • Your Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns; and/or
  • Payroll records
• Regularly and systematically provide goods or services, such as copies of your:
  • Invoices
  • Sales contracts
  • Import/ export license; and/or
  • Contracts or agreements with shipping and receiving companies.

8 USC 1153: Allocation of Immigrant Visas

            (b)(1)(C)

An alien is described in this subparagraph if the alien, in the 3 years preceding the time of the alien’s application for classification and admission into the United States under this subparagraph, has been employed for at least 1 year by a firm or corporation or other legal entity or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof and the alien seeks to enter the United States in order to continue to render services to the same employer or to a subsidiary or affiliate thereof in a capacity that is managerial or executive.

8 CFR 204.5 (J)

(3) Initial evidence —

(i) Required evidence. A petition for a multinational executive or manager must be accompanied by a statement from an authorized official of the petitioning United States employer which demonstrates that

• Relocating with family

1. 1. EB-1C allows intracompany transferees to bring their families with them to the U.S. Moreover, after adjusting status, their family members are eligible to apply for employment authorization to legally work while they’re in the U.S.

• No labor certification requirement

1. 1. The employer sponsoring the immigration petition does not need to show that there is a shortage of qualified U.S. workers, which expedites the visa application process and ultimately allows the alien to receive a green card much faster, without the need to go through a conditional green card first.

   2. With a green card, aliens can travel abroad freely without having to obtain advance parole or worry about jeopardizing their legal status.

   3. In the comparable L-1A visa category, labor certification is required. (the chances an EB-1C petition is approved increase considerably if the beneficiary had L-1A status previously.)

• No personal investment

1. 1. Unlike in the EB-5 visa, alien beneficiaries of EB-1Cs do not need to satisfy extensive capital requirements or create jobs as a result of the business conducted.

   2. Moreover, because employers serve as petitioners for EB-1C applications, employers do most of the work required and pay the filing fees.