AAO Adopted Decision about L-1A Managers Requires Consideration of Beneficiary’s Role in the Qualifying International Organization

 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has adopted an Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision holding that, when determining whether the beneficiary of an L-1A petition will primarily manage an essential function, USCIS must consider evidence of the beneficiary’s role within the wider qualifying international organization. Matter of Z- A-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2016-02 (Apr. 14, 2016). As an adopted decision, Matter of Z- A-, Inc. is binding on all USCIS adjudicators.

The California Service Center (CSC) initially denied the petition, concluding that the petitioner did not have an organizational structure sufficient to support the beneficiary in a qualifying managerial or executive position. The CSC took into account only the two employees on the U.S. payroll; it did not consider the duties performed by the staff located in Japan who were dedicated exclusively to supporting the growth of the organization’s business in the Americas.

The AAO withdrew the CSC’s decision and approved the petition, holding that, when analyzing whether an L-1A beneficiary will primarily manage an essential function, USCIS must consider all relevant evidence in the record concerning the beneficiary’s position within the wider qualifying organization. The AAO concluded that the CSC had erroneously focused only on the size of the petitioner and the small number of employees working for the petitioner in the United States. In so doing, it failed to consider the reasonable needs of the organization as a whole—in this case, “the need for a senior-level employee to manage the essential function of developing its brands and presence in the United States, notwithstanding that the petitioner employs only two other employees in the United States.” Cf. Matter of Leacheng Int’l, Inc. 26 I&N Dec. 532, 535 (AAO 2015) (USCIS must consider the organization as a whole for purposes of satisfying the “doing business” requirement for the multinational manager classification).