sustained L-1A Case: Mold Tooling

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF K-N-A- LLC 
APPEAL OF VERMONT SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: MAY24,2018 
PETITION: FORM 1-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, an importer and wholesaler of mold tooling, seeks to temporarily employ the 
Beneficiary as its "CEO" under the L-1 A nonimmigrant classification for intracompany transferees. 1 
See Immigration aild Nationality Act (the Act) section 101(a)(l5)(L), 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(I5)(L). 
The L-1 A 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 Vermont Service Center denied the petition, concluding that the record did not 
establish, as required, that the Beneficiary would be employed in an executive capacity under the 
extended petition. The Director expressed concerns about the size of the U.S. organization and 
questioned whether the Petitioner employed a sufficient support staff at the time of filing to relieve 
the Beneficiary from having to allocate her time primarily to non-executive functions. The Director 
also questioned whether the positions of the Beneficiary's subordinates are· managerial or 
supervisory in nature. 
On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the Beneficiary would be employed in an executive capacity 
and points to evidence of additional hires that took place prior to the filing of the petition. The 
Petitioner provides additional information describing how the Petitioner's business functions and the 
Beneficiary's relationship with her direct subordinates. The Petitioner also correctly observes that 
we must take into account the reasonable needs of the organization and that a company's size alone 
may not be the only factor in determining whether the Beneficiary is or would be employed in an 
executive capacity. See section 101(a)(44)(C) of the Act. The Petitioner clarifies that its support 
staff, rather than the Beneficiary, actually carry out its daily operational tasks. It also explains the 
role that the foreign parent entity's employees play in supporting the U.S. operation. 
1 The Petitioner previously filed a "new office" petition on the Beneficiary's behalf which was approved for the period 
July 15,2016, until July 14,2017. A "new office" is an organization that has been doing business in the United States 
through a parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary for less than one year. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)( I )(ii)(F). The regulation at 
8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(3)(v)(C) allows a "new office" operation one year within the date of approval of the petition to 
support an executive or managerial position. 
Matter of K-N-A- LLC 
Upon de novo review, we lind that the Petitioner has overcome the Director's decision. Therefore 
we will sustain the appeal. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of K-N-A- LLC, ID# 1041480 (AAO May 24, 2018) 
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