remanded
EB-1C
remanded EB-1C Case: Business Consulting
Decision Summary
The AAO found that the petitioner had withdrawn the petition before the Director issued a decision, and the Director erred by not accepting this withdrawal. As the petition was deemed withdrawn, the AAO lacked jurisdiction over the merits of the case. The matter was remanded for the Director to treat the appeal as a motion to reopen or reconsider the separate finding of willful misrepresentation.
Criteria Discussed
Fraud/Willful Misrepresentation Qualifying Relationship Managerial Or Executive Capacity (Foreign Employment) Managerial Or Executive Capacity (Proposed U.S. Employment) Doing Business Abroad Ability To Pay Withdrawal Of Petition
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U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration
Services
In Re: 2760615
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office
Date : DEC. 4, 2019
Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Multinational Managers or Executives
The Petitioner, describing itself as a business consulting services company, seeks to permanently
employ the Beneficiary in the United States as a "Chief Legal Officer/ Attorney" under the first
preference immigrant classification for multinational executives or managers . Immigration and
Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b)(l)(C), 8 U.S.C. ยง 1153(b)(l)(C).
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition with a finding of fraud I and willful
misrepresentation of a material fact against the Petitioner. The Director stated that the Petitioner
offered false information about the following: (1) its date of incorporation thereby misrepresenting
the period of time it had been doing business prior to filing this petition; and (2) the Beneficiary's
employment abroad for one year during the three-year period that preceded the filing of this petition .
In addition, the Director found that the Petitioner did not demonstrate that: (1) it had a qualifying
relationship with the Beneficiary's foreign employer; (2) the Beneficiary was employed abroad by the
Petitioner's affiliate and that such employment was in a managerial or executive capacity; (3) the
Beneficiary's proposed employment in the United States would be in a managerial or executive
capacity; (4) the foreign organization was doing business; and (5) it had the ability to pay the
Beneficiary's proffered wage starting with the date this petition was filed. See generally 8 C.F.R.
ยง 204.5(j)(3).
On appeal, the Petitioner reiterates its request to withdraw the petition, pointing to this previously
submitted request and noting that it no longer seeks to employ the Beneficiary or pursue approval of
the petition. The Petitioner also disputes the Director's findings of fraud and willful misrepresentation
of material facts, contending that its stated willful misrepresentations were not deliberate and
immaterial to the matter.
Upon de nova review , we find that the Petitioner withdrew the petition before the Director's decision
and that the Director erred by not accepting this request. The petition must be deemed withdrawn .
See 8 C.F.R. ยง 103 .2(b )( 6) ("an applicant or petitioner may withdraw a benefit request at any time
1 Despite making this finding, the Director did not offer an analysis addressing each underlying element of fraud.
Therefore, the Director did not support this finding.
until a decision is issued by USCIS"); see also Matter of Cintron, 16 I&N Dec. 9 (BIA 1976) (holding
that a Director's refusal to consider a petition withdrawn was erroneous).
As the petition has been withdrawn, we have no jurisdiction to reach either the merits of the petition
or the findings of fraud and willful misrepresentation on appeal. See 8 C.F.R. ยง 103.2(b)(l5) ("a
withdrawal may not be appealed"). If the Petitioner had wanted to challenge the Director's proposed
findings, it should have availed itself of the opportunity to respond to the Director's Notice oflntent
to Deny (NOID). As stated in the NOID, forgoing a response does not relieve the Petitioner of its
obligation to resolve critical evidentiary inconsistencies; which if unresolved, could lead to a finding
of material misrepresentation. Therefore, although the merits of the Director's eligibility findings are
now moot based on the Petitioner's withdrawal of the petition, the same cannot be said of the
Director's finding of material misrepresentation, which can stand independently. Regardless of the
withdrawal or a finding that the issues of eligibility are now moot, the facts and circumstances
surrounding the material misrepresentation may impact future benefit requests. Id. ("Withdrawal ...
shall not itself affect [a] new proceeding; but the facts and circumstances surrounding the prior benefit
request shall otherwise be material to the new benefit request.").
Notwithstanding our finding that the petition has been withdrawn, we recognize that the Director erred
in his refusal of the withdrawal; that error led the Petitioner to file the present appeal. Accordingly,
we will remand this matter to the Director so that he may treat the appeal as a motion to reopen or
reconsider the finding of willful misrepresentation of a material fact.
ORDER: The matter is remanded for the entry of a new decision consistent with the foregoing
analysis.
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