remanded L-1A Case: Business Operations

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re: 15927199 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: MAR. 26, 2021 
Form 1-140, Petition for Multinational Managers or Executives 
The Petitioner, a multinational fast-food chain operation, seeks to continue the Beneficiary's 
temporary employment as its "Senior Manager, Operations Latin American and Caribbean" under the 
L-lA nonimmigrant classification for intracompany transferees. See 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 California 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 
capacity. Specifically, the Director questioned whether the Beneficiary's role as a function manager 
would involve managing a clearly defined activity and whether the activity is essential to the 
organization. The Director also questioned the Beneficiary's level of seniority and discretionary 
authority over the function he is claimed to manage. 
On appeal, the Petitioner addresses the Director's concerns, establishing that the operations function 
the Beneficiary has and will continue to manage is a clearly defined activity, which is essential to the 
organization because the decisions the Beneficiary makes and the initiatives he puts forth in the course 
of managing the operations function are critical, impacting and improving the operations of 2200 
business units that are in the geographical area within the Beneficiary's purview. The Petitioner also 
provides information clarifying the reporting structure with respect to the operations function, thereby 
adequately addressing the Director's concerns about the Beneficiary's level of seniority and authority 
to make decisions that affect the operations of the Petitioner's franchises throughout Latin America 
and the Caribbean. 
In sum, the Petitioner has established that the Beneficiary would more likely than not be employed in 
a managerial capacity in his proposed position. However, notwithstanding this determination, the 
Petitioner has not provided sufficient evidence demonstrating that the Beneficiary was employed 
abroad in a managerial capacity for the requisite one-year period. Therefore, this petition cannot be 
approved based on the record as presently constituted and we will remand this matter for further 
consideration. 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
To establish eligibility for the L-1A nonimmigrant visa classification, a qualifying organization must 
have employed the beneficiary in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring 
specialized knowledge for one continuous year within three years preceding the beneficiary's 
application for admission into the United States. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1). 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. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 214.2(1)(3)(ii). 
11. BASIS FOR REMAND 
The Beneficiary's dates of employment abroad were provided in a letter of employment from~I -~ 
I I the Petitioner's "Employment Law & Diversity and Inclusion Officer," who stated that years 
leading up to the Beneficiary's transfer to the United States, the Beneficiary held two different 
positions. The letter states that the Beneficiary first assumed the position of "Operations Manager 
from 201~ through l~013" and that he subsequently assumed the position of "Operations Excellence 
Manger in from March 2013 until he was transferred to the United States ... in July 2013." 
Although provided a job duty breakdown describing the most recent position that the 
Beneficiary held during his foreign employment, that position lasted for a duration of no more than 
five months and therefore the job duties that pertain only to that position are not sufficient to 
demonstrate that the Beneficiary's employment abroad in a managerial capacity last for at least one 
year. In order to determine whether the Beneficiary had the requisite one year of employment abroad 
in a managerial capacity, we would have to consider the job duties and reporting structure that pertain 
to the Beneficiary's position as "Operations Manager," which would make up the remainder of the 
requisite one-year period. Because the Petitioner did not submit evidence pertaining to that position, 
we cannot conclude that it meets the statutory definition of managerial capacity. As such, we cannot 
conclude that the Beneficiary was employed abroad in a managerial capacity for one continuous year 
within three years preceding his admission into the United States as an L-1A nonimmigrant to work 
for the petitioning entity. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1). 
Accordingly, although the Petitioner has provided sufficient evidence establishing that the Beneficiary 
would more likely than not be employed in a managerial capacity in his proposed position with the 
U.S. entity, the evidentiary deficiencies preclude us from making a similar determination with regard 
to the Beneficiary's former employment abroad. 
ORDER: The decision of the Director is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for further 
proceedings consistent with the foregoing opinion and for the entry of a new decision. 
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