sustained EB-1C Case: Media

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF R-A-I-, INC . 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: AUG . 27, 2019 
APPEAL OF NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, a media content and programming company, seeks to permanently employ the 
Beneficiary as a chief creative officer 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's U.S . position and his position abroad qualify as 
managerial or executive positions. On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts 
that the Beneficiary served a function manager abroad and that he will continue to serve as a function 
manager in the United States. 
Upon de nova review, we will sustain the appeal. 
"Managerial capacity" means an assignment within an organization in which the employee primarily 
manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization; 
supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees, or 
manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the 
organization; has authority over personnel actions or functions at a senior level within the 
organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and exercises discretion over the 
day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority . Section 
10l(a)(44)(A) of the Act. 
The statutory definition of "managerial capacity" allows for both "personnel managers" and "function 
managers." See sections 10l(a)(44)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Act. The term "function manager" applies 
generally when a beneficiary does not supervise or control the work of a subordinate staff but instead 
is primarily responsible for managing an "essential function" within the organization. See section 
101(a)(44)(A)(ii) of the Act. If a petitioner claims that a beneficiary will manage an essential function, 
it must clearly describe the duties to be perfonned in managing the essential function. In addition, the 
petitioner must demonstrate that: 
Matter of R-A-I-, Inc. 
(1) the function is a clearly defined activity; (2) the function is "essential," i.e., core to 
the organization; (3) the beneficiary will primarily manage, as opposed to perform, the 
function; ( 4) the beneficiary will act at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy 
or with respect to the function managed; and ( 5) the beneficiary will exercise discretion 
over the function's day-to-day operations. 
Matter of G- Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-05 (AAO Nov. 8, 2017). 
Here, the Petitioner has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the Beneficiary served a 
as a function manager in Germany and that he will continue to serve as a function manager in the 
United States. It has meaningfully described his duties as chief creative officer in Germany and the 
United States; it has clearly defined the creative function that is essential to its global media 
programming; it has established that the Beneficiary has been and will continue to primarily manage 
the creative function; it has established that the Beneficiary acted at a senior level with respect to the 
function managed in Germany and will continue to do so in the United States; and it has established 
that the Beneficiary exercised discretion over the day-to-day operations of the creative function in 
Germany and will continue to do so in the United States. 
The Petitioner has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the Beneficiary served a as a 
function manager in Germany and that he will continue to serve as a function manager in the United 
States. We will therefore sustain the appeal. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of R-A-I-, Inc., ID# 5845676 (AAO Aug. 27, 2019) 
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