sustained L-1A Case: Grocery Wholesale

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
. MATTER OF C-USA, INC. 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: FEB.13,2019 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a grocery wholesaler, seeks to temporarily employ the Beneficiary as its business 
development and brand manager under the L-1 A nonimmigrant· classification for intracompany 
transferees. Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(15)(L), 8 U.S.C. 
. § 1101(a)(i5)(L). The L-IA 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 record did not 
establish, · as required, that. the Beneficiary has been employed abroad in a capacity that was 
·managerial, executive, or involved specialized knowledge, and will be employed in the United States 
in a managerial or executive capacity. 
The matter is now before us on appeal. On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and 
asserts th~t the Director erred by reaching unsupported or poorly-explained conclusions. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
On appeal, the Petitioner establishes that the Beneficiary's past position abroad, and his intended 
position in the United States, both meet the requirements of a managerial capacity. The Director 
concluded: "The majority of [the Beneficiary's listed foreign] duties are not generally considered 
. managerial." The Director did not elaborate on this point by identifying the n·on-qualifying duties. 
Furthermore, · the Director found that there is minimal subordinate support staff below the 
. Beneficiary both abroad and in the United States, but this conclusion apparently rested on simplified 
organizational charts ·rather than more complex staffing structure evident elsewhere in the record. 
The Petitioner has credibly demonstrated that the U.S. and foreign operations under the 
Beneficiary's past or intended authority are sufficiently complex to warrant managerial oversight, 
and that the Beneficiary's work involves more than simply the direct supervision of non-professional 
first-line ·subordinates. · ' 
Matter of C- USA, Inc. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
\ 
Cite as Matter ofC- USA, Inc., ID# 1850897 (AAO Feb: 13, 2019) 
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