sustained EB-1C Case: Sales And Marketing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF C-S-A-, INC. 
APPEAL OF TEXAS SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: SEPT. 11,2017 
PETITION: FORM I-140, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR ALIEN WORKER 
The Petitioner, which markets and sells stainless steel tubes, seeks to permanently employ the 
Beneficiary as its sales and marketing manager under the first preference immigrant classification 
for multinational executives or managers. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) 
section 203(b)(1)(C), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(1)(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 Texas Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the Petitioner did not 
establish, as required, that the Beneficiary would be employed in the United States in a managerial 
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capacity. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that it established by a 
preponderance of the evidence that the Beneficiary qualifies for the requested classification. The 
Petitioner contends that the Director overlooked material evidence establishing that overseas 
employees support the Petitioner's sales and marketing efforts, and placed undue emphasis on the 
size of the U.S. company and its employees' relative salaries. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
Section 203(b )(1 )(C) of the Act makes an immigrant visa available to a beneficiary who, in the three 
years preceding the filing of the petition, has been employed outside the United States for at least one 
year in a managerial or executive capacity, and seeks to enter the United States in order to continue to 
render managerial or executive services to the same employer or to its subsidiary or affiliate. 
A United States employer may file Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, to classify a 
beneficiary under section 203(b)(l)(C) of the Act as a multinational executive or manager. The petition 
must include a statement from an authorized official of the petitioning United States employer which 
demonstrates that the beneficiary has been employed abroad in a managerial or executive capacity for at 
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The Petitioner does not claim the Beneficiary will be employed in an executive capacity. 
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Matter ofC-S-A-, Inc. 
least one year in the three years preceding the filing of the petition, that the beneficiary is coming to 
work in the United States for the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate of the foreign employer, and 
that the prospective U.S. employer has been doing business for at least one year. See 8 C.F.R. 
§ 204.5G)(3). 
II. DISCUSSION 
The Director found that the evidence did not establish that the Beneficiary would be employed in a 
managerial capacity as defined at section 101(a)(44)(A) ofthe Act; 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(44)(A). 
In denying the petition, the Director observed that one of the Beneficiary's subordinates, a sales 
representative, received a higher salary than the Beneficiary in 2015. The Director referenced the 
Beneficiary's job duties and the evidence submitted in support of the Petition, and determined that "a 
majority ofthe beneficiary's duties will involve the operational activities ofthe petitioning company 
due to the nature of the business and the low number of staff currently employed as established by 
the evidence." 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits a detailed letter explaining the reasons for the noted salary 
incongruity 
and asserts that the Director overlooked evidence establishing that both contracted 
employees and foreign staff within the Petitioner's multinational organization support the North 
American sales operation managed by the Beneficiary. 
Upon review of the petition and evidence, including the evidence submitted on appeal, we find that 
the Petitioner has overcome the grounds for denial articulated by the Director. 
The Petitioner is a U.S. subsidiary of a group of companies headquartered in Ukraine. The 
multinational group maintains sales offices in seven countries and distributes its products to nearly 
70 countries. The petitioning company was established to expand the distribution of the group's 
products in the United States and the larger region. The 
record substantiates that the Beneficiary's role as sales and marketing manager will involve 
oversight of nine foreign employees who are charged with supporting these efforts. Specifically, the 
Petitioner established that staff based at the company's Swiss global sales office and employees 
based at the group's Ukraine headquarters directly support U.S. sales activities, while a dedicated 
group of employees designated as ' (based in Ukraine) supports product 
manufacturing and logistics for the North American region. We may consider employees of the 
wider multinational organization when assessing a petitioner's staffing needs and determining 
whether a beneficiary will be sufficiently relieved from performing operational and administrative 
duties. See Matter ofZ-A-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2016-02 (AAO Apr. 14, 2016). 
In addition, the Petitioner employs full-time sales staff and independent sales agents who are able to 
relieve the Beneficiary from performing most of the non-qualifying functions required for the U.S. 
subsidiary's day-to-day operation. Although the Director observed that the Beneficiary's 
subordinate earned more than he did in 2015, the Petitioner explains that the sales representative has 
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Matter ofC-S-A-, Inc. 
a lower base salary, but is eligible for sales commissions not available to the Beneficiary in his role 
as a sales manager. 
Taking into account the contributions of the foreign staff and U.S. staff, we find that the record 
establishes that the Beneficiary would primarily perform managerial duties and will manage a major 
component or function of the organization, with discretionary authority over the day-to-day sales and 
marketing activities in the North American region. Further, he will act at a senior level with respect 
to the function managed, reporting only to the Petitioner's general manager and the global sales 
director based in Ukraine. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has established that the Beneficiary will be employed in the United States m a 
managerial capacity. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter ofC-S-A-, Inc., ID# 473200 (AAO Sept. 11, 2017) 
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