sustained EB-1C Case: Marketing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER C- INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JUNE 27, 2019 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a manufacturer and marketer of fragrances, cosmetics, skincare and other beauty 
products, seeks to permanently employ the Beneficiary as "Marketing Director (US Luxury)" 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. § 1153(b)(l)(C). This classification 
allows a U.S. employer to permanently transfer a qualified foreign employee to the United States to 
work in an executive or managerial capacity. 
The Director of the Nebraska Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish, as required, that the Beneficiary was employed in the United States in a managerial or 
executive capacity. In addition, the Director determined that the Petitioner did not demonstrate that it 
had the ability to pay the Beneficiary. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Beneficiary qualified as a function manager abroad based on 
his management of an essential function of the foreign employer and contends that the Director did 
not consider the totality of the submitted evidence. The Petitioner also states that it has demonstrated 
its ability to pay the Beneficiary's proffered wage in the United States and points to submitted paystubs 
and tax documentation it asserts substantiates this payment. 
Upon de nova review, we conclude that the record is sufficient to establish that the Beneficiary more 
likely than not acted in a managerial capacity while employed with the foreign employer. First, the 
Petitioner submitted a detailed description of the Beneficiary's foreign duties indicating that he was 
primarily engaged in qualifying managerial tasks overseeing an essential function of the company; 
namely marketing for the foreign employer's travel retail business which generates over $100 million 
in annual sales. In addition, the Petitioner provided documentation reflecting that the Beneficiary 
more likely than not delegated most non-qualifying operational tasks to a professional marketing 
coordinator he supervised. The submitted evidence also sufficiently establishes that the Beneficiary 
had the authority to hire, fire, and take other personnel actions with respect to his professional 
subordinate. As such, the evidence demonstrates that the Beneficiary primarily performed the duties 
of a function manager in his former capacity abroad. 
Matter of C- Inc. 
In addition, the Petitioner has demonstrated that it has the ability to pay the Beneficiary's proffered 
wage in the United States. In determining a petitioner's ability to pay the proffered wage, we will first 
examine whether it employed the beneficiary at the time the priority date was established. If a 
petitioner establishes by documentary evidence that it paid the beneficiary a salary equal to or greater 
than the proffered wage, this evidence will be considered prima facie proof of a petitioner's ability to 
pay a beneficiary's salary. 
The instant petition was filed on August 22, 2017. On appeal, the Petitioner points to submitted 
paystubs and a 2017 IRS Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, reflecting that the Petitioner paid the 
Beneficiary $136,953.04 in 2017 while employed in the United States on an L-1 intracompany 
transferee visa. Therefore, we find this supporting documentation sufficient to demonstrate that the 
Petitioner more likely than not had the ability to pay the Beneficiary's proffered annual salary of 
$130,000 as of the date the petition was filed. 
The totality of the evidence establishes that the Beneficiary was more likely than not employed in a 
managerial capacity abroad and that the Petitioner had the ability to pay the Beneficiary's proffered 
wage. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of C- Inc., ID# 3863600 (AAO June 27, 2019) 
2