remanded L-1A Case: Renewable Energy

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATIER OF N-US INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: JUNE 19,2018 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a renewable energy company, seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary as the 
managing director of its new office under the L-JA nonimmigrant classification for intracompany 
transferees. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section l0l(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, thatit would employ the Beneficiary in a managerial or executive capacity 
in the United States. The Director acknowledged that the Petitioner indicated on the petition that the 
Beneficiary is coming to the United States for employment in a new office, but determined that the 
company does not qualify as a new office. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that it has not been doing business as defined in the regulations for 
at least one year, and, as such, it meets the definition of a "new office." The Petitioner maintains 
that it submitted sufficient evidence to establish that it would be able to support the Beneficiary in a 
managerial capacity within one year of the approval of the petition. 
Upon de novo review of the record, we will withdraw the Director's decision and remand the matter 
for entry of a new decision. 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
To establish eligibility for the L-1A nonimmigrant visa classification in a petition involving a new 
office, a qualifying organization must have employed the beneficiary in a managerial or executive 
capacity 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)(3)(v)(B). 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. /d. 
The h~rm "new office" refers to an organization which has been doing business in the United States 
for less than one year. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(J)(ii)(F). "Doing business" means the regular, 
Matter of N-US Inc. 
systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does 
not include the mere presence of an agent or office. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l)(l)(ii)(H). 
The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 2l4.2(l)(3)(v)(C) allows a "new office" operation no more than one year 
within the date of approval of the petition to support an executive or managerial position. Therefore, 
a petitioner that qualifies as a new office must submit evidence to demonstrate that the new office 
will be able to support a managerial or executive position within one year. This evidence must 
establish that the petitioner secured sufficient physical premises to house its operation and disclose 
the proposed nature and scope of the entity, its organizational structure, its financial goals, and the 
size of the U.S. investment. See generally, 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l)(3)(v). 
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II. ANALYSIS 
Upon review, we agree with the Petitioner's claim that it qualifies as a new office as defined in the 
regulations. The Director determined that the Petitioner had been doing business for more than one 
year because it reported a gross income figure on its 2015 and 2016 corporate income tax returns. 
However, the Petitioner submitted evidence demonstrating that the income reported was provided 
entirely by its foreign parent company to cover salaries and initial start-up expenses. The record 
does not show that the company has engaged in or derived income from the provision of goods 
and/or services to date. 
The Petitioner, as a new office, must show that it will more likely than not support the Beneficiary in 
a managerial or executive capacity within one year. Because the Director did not apply the new 
office regulations to the facts presented, the Director required that the Petitioner demonstrate that the 
Beneficiary would immediately perform primarily managerial or executive duties, as defined at 
section 101(a)(44) of the Act, upon approval of the petition. After reviewing the record under the 
appropriate regulations, we find that the Petitioner established that it would employ the Beneficiary 
in a managerial capacity within one year. Although the Petitioner will maintain a small staff 
initially, it provided a detailed business plan explaining how the Beneficiary would perform 
primarily managerial duties with the support of the U.S. employees, contractors, employees of the 
foreign entity, and business partners working with the Petitioner to develop solar energy projects in 
the United States. · 
Accordingly, we will withdraw the Director's findings with respect to the Beneficiary's proposed 
employment capacity and the Petitioner's qualification as a new office. 
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III. DOING BUSINESS WITHIN ONE YEAR 
Although we are withdrawing the Director's decision, the record as presently constituted does not 
establish that the new office would be doing business as a qualifying organization within one year. 
When a petition indicates that a beneficiary is coming to the United States to open a new office, the 
petitioner must show that it is ready to commence doing business immediately upon approval. If 
approved, a beneficiary is granted a one-year period of stay to open or be employed at the "new 
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Matter of N-US Inc. 
ofTice." 8 C.F.R.' § 214.2(1)(7)(i)(A)(3). At the end of the one-year period, when a peti tioner seeks 
an extension of the "new oftice" petit ion, the regul ation at 8 C.F.R. § 2 14.2(1)(14)(ii)(B) requires a 
petitioner to demonst rate that it has been doing business "for the previous year" through the regular, 
systematic, and con tinuou s provision of goods or services. 
The Petitioner's business plan identifi ed its involvement in two solar energy proj ects. The 
consists of 300 acre s of industrial land in Washin gton where it propo ses to install 
a solar farm and power plant. The Petitioner indic ates that it has a serv ice agreeme nt with 
for the developm ent of this project. The other proj ect is the an 
early stage project undertaken by a smaller developer, which the Peti tioner expects to acq uire and 
dev elop in 201 8. The Petitioner describ ed these projects in detai l, but it did not provide supporting 
documentation that would ass ist in evaluating their current stag e of development, such as the service 
agreement with or documentation related to its acqu isition of the Georgia-based 
project. 
· Further, although the Petitioner has budgeted for significant development and investment costs for 
these and future projects, but its forecasted project profit and loss statement shows that the company 
antici pates $0 in annual revenue s in both 2018 and 2019. Since the petition was filed in September 
2017, additional evidence would be needed to :demonstrate how the Petiti oner's activities in the 
interim would meet the definition of "doing busin ess" within one year, and at what point it will 
begin to engage in the regular , systematic , and continuous provi sion of services. If the Petitioner 
will not reach that stage of development within one year, then the petition is not appro vab le. 
As the Director did not raise this issue , we will remand the matter for the issuanc e of a new decision. 
The Director may request any additional evidenc e deemed warranted and allow the Petitio ner to 
submit such evidence within a reaso nable period of time. 
ORDER: The matt er is remanded for the entry of a new decision con sistent with the forego ing 
analysis. 
Cite as Matter of N-US Inc., lD# 1378263 (AAO June 19, 20]8) 
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