remanded L-1A Case: Steel Manufacturing

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
In Re : 19927092 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Form 1-129, Petition for Blanket L Approval 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date : FEB. 16, 2022 
The Petitioner, a manufacturer of industrial steel products, seeks to extend its blanket petition to facilitate 
the transfer of future beneficiaries under the L-1 nonirnmigrant classification for intracompany 
transferees .1 Section 10l(a)(l5)(L) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act)), 8 U.S.C. 
§ l 101(a)(l5)(L) and section 214(c)(2)(A) of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1184. 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, concluding that, because the 
approval of the Petitioner's initial blanket L petition was being reviewed for possible revocation, it 
did not establish its eligibility for an extension of the blanket petition's validity . 
In these proceedings, it is the Petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the requested benefit by a 
preponderance of the evidence. Section 291 of the Act, 8 U.S .C. § 1361; Matter ofChawathe, 25 I&N 
Dec . 369, 375 (AAO 2010) . Upon de nova review, we will withdraw the Director's decision and 
remand the matter for issuance of a new decision. 
I. LAW 
Section 214( c )(2)(A) of the Act authorizes a procedure under which a qualifying importing employer 
may file a blanket petition to facilitate the transfer of L-1 intracompany transferees as an alternative 
to filing of individual petitions on behalf of such employees. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)( 4)(i) 
allows a petitioner to file a blanket petition to seek continuing approval of itself and some or all of its 
parent, branches , subsidiaries, and affiliates as qualifying organizations if: the petitioner and each of those 
entities are engaged in commercial trade or services; the petitioner has an office in the United States that 
has been doing business for at least one year; the petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign 
branches , subsidiaries, or affiliates; and, the petitioner and the other qualifying organizations have 
obtained approval of petitions for at least ten "L" managers, executives , or specialized knowledge 
professionals during the previous 12 months; or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual 
sales of at least $25 million; or have a United States work force of at least 1,000 employees . 
1 The Petitioner 's initial blanket petition was approved with validity dates from November 1, 2018, until September 30, 
20211  
A petitioner with an approved blanket petition may request an indefinite extension at the end of the initial 
three-year validity period by filing a new Form 1-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with a copy 
of the previous approval notice and a report of admissions during the preceding three years. The report 
of admissions must include the names of the beneficiaries admitted under the blanket petition during the 
preceding three years, including positions held during that period, the employing entity, and the dates of 
initial admission and final departure of each beneficiary. The petitioner is also required to demonstrate 
that it still meets the requirements for filing a blanket petition. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(14)(iii)(A). 
II. ANALYSIS 
The Director denied the petition after issuing a notice of intent to deny (NOID). The Director noted 
that the initial blanket approval was pending revocation at the time the NOID was issued and 
emphasized that the Petitioner's response to the NOID did not include "evidence which demonstrates 
that your initial blanket petition has had its approval reaffirmed." 
On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the Director did not have a proper legal basis for issuing a 
notice of intent to revoke the initial blanket petition approval. Accordingly, it maintains that the 
proposed revocation of that approval should not have resulted in the denial of this extension petition. 
Upon review, we will withdraw the Director's decision and remand the matter for further action and 
issuance of a new decision. 
The record reflects that the Petitioner timely filed this extension request on June 11, 2021 and complied 
with the evidentiary requirements for an extension set forth at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(14)(iii)(A) by 
submitting a report of admissions and relevant evidence showing its continued eligibility for a blanket 
petition. 
On June 25, 2021, the Director issued the NOID advising the Petitioner that a notice of intent to revoke 
the approval of the initial blanket petition had been issued on June 24, 2021. The Director advised the 
Petitioner as follows: 
USCIS intends to revoke [the prior petition] pursuant to 8 CFR 214.2(1)(9)(iii)(6) 
because the evidence you submitted in support of the current extension indicates that 
none of the qualifying organizations have used the blanket petition procedure for three 
consecutive years. If [the prior petition] is revoked, there will be no basis for the 
approval of the current extension. Therefore, unless USCIS affirms the approval of 
[the prior petition], USCIS intends to deny the current extension petition. 
The Petitioner responded to the NOID by resubmitting its report of admissions and additional evidence 
to demonstrate that six beneficiaries working for three different qualifying organizations had used the 
blanket petition process since the approval of the initial petition. 
Although the Director acknowledged receipt of this evidence, she did not acknowledge the Petitioner's 
claim that the revocation provision at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(9)(iii)(6) does not apply based on the facts 
of this case. Instead, she denied the petition because the Petitioner did not provide evidence that 
USCIS had reaffirmed the approval of the initial approval. However, this petition was denied on July 
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21, 2021, and the Petitioner's response to the notice of intent to revoke was not due until July 27, 2021. 
Based on the procedural history outlined above, it was not possible for the Petitioner to submit 
evidence that its initial petition had been reaffirmed within the time allotted for its response to the 
Director's NOID. 
While we agree that this petition could not be approved while the initial blanket petition is pending a 
possible revocation, it should not have been adjudicated until there was a final decision in that related 
matter. As of this date, the revocation proceeding related to the initial blanket petition I I 
I I remains pending. Accordingly, we will remand this matter to the Director for a new decision, 
which should not be issued until a final decision has been issued with respect to the prior blanket 
petition. 
Further, we have considered the Petitioner's claim that Director did not have a proper basis for issuing 
a notice of intent to revoke the approval of the initial blanket petition. The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 
214.2(1)(9)(iii)(6) states that a blanket petition may be revoked on notice if "none of the qualifying 
organization in a blanket petition have used the blanket petition procedure for three consecutive years." 
There is no stated or implied requirement that at least one qualifying organization must use the blanket 
petition to transfer a beneficiary in every single year. Here, the Petitioner provided evidence that six 
individuals employed by three different qualifying organizations used the blanket petition procedure 
between the approval of the initial blanket petition in 2018 and the filing of this extension in 2021; 
there has not been a period of three consecutive years during which "none of the qualifying 
organizations" used the blanket petition procedure. Therefore, the record before us on appeal does not 
support the Director's determination that the Petitioner's initial blanket approval is subject to 
revocation on notice pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(9)(iii)(6). 
ORDER: The decision of the Director is withdrawn. The matter is remanded for the entry of a 
new decision consistent with the foregoing analysis, which, if adverse to the Petitioner, 
shall be certified to us for review. 
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