dismissed L-1A Case: Logistics

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 2861662 
Appeal of Texas Service Center Decision 
Form 1-129, Petition for L-lA Manager or Executive 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : AUG . 06, 2020 
The Petitioner seeks to extend the Beneficiary's temporary employment as its managing director under 
the L-lA nonirnrnigrant classification for intracompany transferees . Immigration and Nationality Act 
(the Act) section 101(a)(15)(L) , 8 U.S .C. § 1101(a)(15)(L) . The L-lA classification allows a 
corporation or other legal entity (including its affiliate or subsidiary) to transfer a qualifying foreign 
employee to the United States to work temporarily in a managerial or executive capacity . 
The Director of the Texas Service Center denied the petition , concluding that the record did not 
establish that (a) the Beneficiary 's foreign employer is doing busine ss in accordance with the 
regulations ; (b) the Beneficiary had at least one continuous year of full-time employment abroad with 
a qualifying organization within the three years preceding the filing of the petition; (c) the Beneficiary 
was employed abroad in a primarily managerial or executive capacity ; ( d) the Beneficiary is qualified 
to perform the intended services in the United States; ( e) the Beneficiary will be employed in the 
United States in a primarily managerial or executive capacity; (f) the Beneficiary's services are to be 
used for a temporary period and the Beneficiary will be transferred to an assignment abroad on 
completion of the temporary assignment in the United States; and (g) the Petitioner and the 
Beneficiary's foreign employer have the required qualifying relationship. 
In these proceedings , it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit. 
Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1361. Upon de nova review , we will dismiss the appeal. 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
To establish eligibility for the L-lA nonimmigrant visa classification, a qualifying organization must 
have employed the beneficiary "in a capacity that is managerial, executive , or involve s specialized 
knowledge ," for one continuous year within three years preceding the beneficiary's application for 
admission into the United States . Section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Act. In addition , the beneficiary must 
seek to enter the United States temporarily to continue rendering his or her services to the same 
employer or a subsidiary or affiliate thereof in a managerial or executive capacity. Id. 
II. DOING BUSINESS-FOREIGN ENTITY 
The Director concluded that the Beneficiary's foreign employer is not doing business in accordance 
with the regulations. Here, the Petitioner asserts a qualifying relalionship 1I with the Beneficiary's 
foreign employer,.__ ________________ _, in Turkeyl I. 
Therefore, the petition must be accompanied by evidence that the Petitioner and I I are 
qualifying organizations. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(G), 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(3)(i). A qualifying 
organization must be doing business for the duration of the Beneficiary's stay in L-1 status the United 
States. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l)(l)(ii)(G)(2). "Doing business," is defined as the regular, systematic, 
and continuous provision of goods or services. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(H). Here, the Director 
concluded that the record did not establish thatl I is actively engaged in the regular, 
systematic, and continuous provision of goods or services. He noted that the Petitioner submitted the 
foreign entity's tax returns in response to the RFE,2 but the returns show that the entity had minimal 
gross sales and operated at a loss. 
On appeal, the Petitioner, through counsel, states that the foreign entity provides services "including 
logistics, customs, and storage categories" overseas. However, the assertions of counsel do not 
constitute evidence. Matter of Obaigbena, 19 I&N Dec. 533, 534 n.2 (BIA 1988) (citing Matter of 
Ramirez-Sanchez, 17 I&N Dec. 503, 506 (BIA 1980)). Counsel's statements must be substantiated with 
independent evidence. The Petitioner submits no evidence on appeal to support its counsel's claims. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of proof to demonstrate eligibility by a preponderance of the evidence. 
Section 291 of the Act; Matter of Chawathe, 25 I&N Dec. 369,375 (AAO 2010). The Petitioner has 
not established by a preponderance of the evidence that the Beneficiary's foreign employer is doing 
business as required by the regulations. The appeal will be dismissed for this reason. 
III. U.S. EMPLOYMENT IN A MANAGERIAL OR EXECUTIVE CAPACITY 
The Director also concluded that the record did not establish that the Beneficiary would be employed 
in a primarily managerial or executive position in the United States. The Petitioner does not contest 
this determination on appeal. Therefore, we deem this issue to be waived. See, e.g., Matter of M-A­
S-, 24 I&N Dec. 762, 767 n.2 (BIA 2009). The appeal will be dismissed for this additional reason. 
IV. RESERVED ISSUES 
The Director also concluded that the record did not establish that (a) the Beneficiary had at least one 
continuous year of full-time employment abroad with a qualifying organization within the three years 
preceding the filing of the petition; (b) the Beneficiary was employed abroad in a primarily managerial 
or executive capacity; ( c) the Beneficiary is qualified to perform the intended services in the United 
States; (d) the Beneficiary's services are to be used for a temporary period and the Beneficiary will be 
1 To establish a qualifying relationship, the Petitioner must show that the Beneficiary's foreign employer and the proposed 
U.S. employer are the same employer (i.e. one entity with "branch" offices) or related as a "parent and subsidiary" or as 
"affiliates." See section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Act; see also 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l)(l)(ii) (providing definitions of the terms 
"parent," "branch," "subsidiary," and "affiliate"). 
2 In the RFE, the Director requested the following evidence to show that the foreign entity is doing business: annual report; 
tax documents; audited financial statements; purchase orders; invoices; bills oflading; third party license agreements; U.S. 
customs documentation; and vendor, supplier, or customer contracts. 
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transferred to an assignment abroad on completion of the temporary assignment in the United States; 
and ( e) the Petitioner and the Beneficiary's foreign employer have the required qualifying relationship. 
However, because the issues discussed in Parts II and III above are dispositive in this case, we need 
not reach the five remaining issues and therefore reserve them. 
ORDER: The appeal is dismissed. 
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