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What is an EB-1C Visa?
The EB-1C is for managers or executives who have been employed by an overseas company that has a qualifying relationship with a U.S. company. The U.S. company serves as the petitioner, seeking to employ the foreign national in a continuing managerial or executive capacity.
A significant feature of the EB-1C, shared with the other EB-1 categories, is that it does not require a Labor Certification (PERM) from the Department of Labor. This exemption generally results in a much faster overall processing time compared to most other employment-based Green Card categories.
Eligibility Requirements
There are three sets of requirements that must be met for an EB-1C petition: those related to the employee, the U.S. employer, and the relationship between the foreign and U.S. companies.
Employee Requirements (The Beneficiary)
The employee must have been employed outside the United States for at least one year in the three years preceding the filing of the petition (or the most recent lawful nonimmigrant admission if they are already working for the U.S. employer). This foreign employment must have been in a primarily managerial or executive capacity.
The employee must be entering the U.S. to work in a continuing managerial or executive capacity for the U.S. employer.
U.S. Employer Requirements (The Petitioner)
The U.S. petitioning employer must:
Be a firm, corporation, or other legal entity.
Be the same employer or an affiliate or subsidiary of the foreign employer that employed the beneficiary abroad.
Have been doing business in the United States for at least one year.
Managerial or Executive Capacity Defined
Managerial Capacity generally involves managing the organization, a department, a subdivision, a function, or supervising and controlling the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees. It requires exercising discretion over day-to-day operations.
Executive Capacity generally involves directing the management of the organization or a major component, establishing goals and policies, exercising wide latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receiving only general supervision from higher executives.
EB-1C Visa Process
The U.S. company must petition for the employee, as the EB-1C category does not allow for self-petitioning.
Petition Filing (Form I-140): The U.S. employer files the Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on behalf of the employee. This petition must include extensive documentation proving all eligibility requirements for both the employee and the employer.
USCIS Approval and Priority Date: USCIS reviews the evidence and approves the petition. The date the I-140 was properly filed becomes the employee’s “priority date.” The EB-1 category often has a current priority date, allowing the final step to proceed immediately upon I-140 approval. The I-140 petition is eligible for Premium Processing, which provides a decision within 15 calendar days.
Final Application for Permanent Residence:
Adjustment of Status (I-485): If the employee is already in the U.S. and a visa number is available, they file for Adjustment of Status to permanent resident.
Consular Processing: If the employee is outside the U.S., they apply for the immigrant visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in their home country.
Green Card Issuance: Upon approval of the I-485 or successful completion of Consular Processing, the employee and their qualifying family members (spouse and unmarried children under 21) are granted permanent resident status.
Documents Required (Non-Exhaustive)
Completed USCIS Forms (I-140, I-485 if adjusting status, and supporting forms).
Proof of Qualifying Relationship: Documents like corporate structures, annual reports, tax returns, and legal documents proving the parent, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship between the foreign and U.S. entities.
Evidence of One Year of U.S. Business: Tax returns, financial statements, bank records, and employee payroll records to prove the U.S. company has been actively operating for at least one year.
Proof of Employee’s Executive or Managerial Capacity: Detailed organizational charts for both the foreign and U.S. entities showing the employee’s position and the positions they manage (supervisory, professional, or managerial staff) or the essential functions they control.
Letters of Employment/Affidavits from authorized representatives of both companies detailing the employee’s past and future executive/managerial duties.
Evidence of Ability to Pay the offered salary (e.g., financial statements, tax returns of the U.S. company).