EB1-C for multinational managers and executives enables beneficiaries to obtain Permanent Residency in the United States (a "Green Card").An EB1C application is initiated by a qualifying employer filing a Petition using form I-140.
There are two ways to obtain Permanent Residence through EB1C:
1. EB1C: A qualified employee located outside the United States can obtain an EB1C-based visa and come to the US as an intending immigrant.
2. EB1C Adjustment of Status (“AOS”): A Qualified employee who is already in the United States on a non-immigrant visa can “Adjust Status” to a “Green Card” using Eb1-C.
Benefits of Benefits of an EB1C Green Card:
There are several reasons to consider obtaining an EB1C Green Card:
1. No large minimum investment. EB1C is not an investment visa and does not require any investment.
2. No Labor Certification Requirement or PERM. Unlike EB2 and EB3, there is no requirement to prove that the employer was unable to hire a US worker. The PERM process is complex and time consuming.
3. No Job creation requirements. Unlike EB5 there are no requirements that any jobs be created.
4. Family members can be included. An EB1C employee is able to obtain a Green Card for their derivative family members. Derivative family members include a spouse and children under the age of 21.
5. Simple process for workers. An immigrant using EB1c visa face a very simple process. The applicant employer, not the employee, must compile and submit the required documentation and pay the necessary filing fees.
6. Unconditional status: Unlike EB5 an EB1C-based Green Card has no period of Conditional Residency. EB1C is a simple one-step process with no additional filings and documentation required. Once Permanent Residency is established under EB1C the Green Card is unconditional.
Rules and Requirements for EB1-C:
There are a number of requirements that need to be met to qualify for an EB1C Green Card. Compliance with each EB1C requirement needs to be carefully documented with applicable evidence.
Who Qualifies for EB1-C?
Requirements for the EB1C Employee:
a. Multinational Manager on a L-1 Visa.
b. Must have worked for the foreign company for at least one (1) year continuously in the three (3) years substantiated with payroll records.
c. Must have worked primarily in a managerial or executive capacity, substantiated with Organizational Diagrams, Job descriptions for employees, Educational Documentation and Diplomas.
d. Must be seeking to work in the United States in a managerial or executive capacity with the same employer or an affiliate or a subsidiary of that employer, substantiated with U.S. job description, Letter from Human Resources.
Requirements for the EB1C U.S. Employer:
a. Must be related to foreign employer as a subsidiary/parent, affiliate or branch, substantiated with
corporate ownership documentation. shareholder registers.
b. Must conduct business within the United States. This means “the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a firm, corporation, or other entity and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office,” substantiated with tax returns, invoicing records,
brochures, photographs of business premises, commercial contracts, invoices and shipping documentation.
c. Must have been operational in the United States for at least one year prior to the I-140 being filed, substantiated with corporate formation documents, tax returns.
There is no requirement that the US and non-US businesses be in the same industry. The US and non-US businesses must have “common control”.