sustained L-1A Case: Poultry Breeding

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
MATTER OF H-N-A-, LLC 
Non-Precedent Decision of the 
Administrative Appeals Office 
DATE: NOV. 30.2017 
APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION 
PETITION: FORM I-129, PETITION FOR A NONIMMIGRANT WORKER 
The Petitioner, a poultry breeding and distribution company, seeks to temporarily employ the 
Beneficiary as the president and secretary of its new office 1 under the L-1 A 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-1A classification allows a corporation or other 
legal entity (including its atliliate 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 would be employed in a managerial or executive capacity 
within one year of the approval of the new office petition. 
On appeal, the Petitioner submits additional evidence and asserts that the preponderance of the 
evidence demonstrates that the Beneficiary would be employed in a qualifying executive and 
managerial capacity. 
Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal. 
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
To establish eligibility for the L-1 A nonimmigrant visa classification for 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. Section 101(a)(15)(L) of the 
Act. The petitioner must also establish that the beneficiary·s prior education. training. and 
employment qualifies him or her to perform the intended services in the United States. 8 C.F.R. 
§ 214.2(1)(3). 
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The tenn "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)(1 )(ii)(F). 
Matter of H-N-A-, LLC 
If the Form l-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, indicates that the beneficiary is coming to 
the United States in L-1 A status to open or to be employed in a new office. the petitioner 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(1)(3)(v). 
II. U.S. EMPLOYMENT IN AN EXECUTIVE OR MANAGERIAL CAPACITY 
The Director determined that the Petitioner did not establish that its new oftice would be able to 
support a managerial or executive capacity. as defined at section 101 (a)( 44) of the Act within one 
year of approval of the petition. 
Specifically, the Director concluded that the Beneficiary's proposed job description reflects that he 
would be primarily engaged in non-qualifying operational duties. Specifically, the Director 
referenced the Beneficiary's responsibilities for "'human resources planning and management" as 
"secretarial" duties. The Director also pointed to the Petitioner's organizational chart and stated that 
it indicated that the Beneficiary would be only a first-line supervisor of non-professional employees. 
rather than a managerial or executive employee. 
Upon review, we disagree with the Director's assessment of the Beneficiary's job description and 
the Petitioner's proposed staffing and structure. The Petitioner has submitted sutTicient evidence to 
demonstrate that the Beneficiary would more likely than not be employed in a managerial capacity 
within one year. 
The statutory definition of "managerial capacity'' allows for both "personnel managers·· and 
"function managers.'' See section 101 (a)( 44)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Act. Personnel managers are 
required to primarily supervise and control the work of other supervisory. professionaL or 
managerial employees. Contrary to the common understanding of the word "'manager:· the statute 
plainly states that a "first line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity 
merely by virtue of the supervisor's supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are 
professional." Section 101 (a)( 44 )(A)(iv) of the Act. If a beneficiary directly supervises other 
employees, the beneficiary must also have the authority to hire and tire those employees. or 
recommend those actions, and take other personnel actions. 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)( 1 ){ii )(B)(J). 
The Petitioner has submitted a detailed and credible duty description for the Beneficiary. Although 
it appears likely that the Beneficiary may perform some non-qualifying operational tasks in his role 
as president during the first year, the evidence is sutlicient to indicate that the Beneficiary will more 
likely than not be primarily engaged in qualifying managerial tasks while supervising professional 
subordinates within the first year. The Petitioner has provided sufficient evidence related to its first 
year business plans and documentation indicating that it will take over substantial orders from a 
distributor that formerly handled its sales and services related to poultry hatching. The record 
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Matter of H-N-A-, LLC 
indicates that the Beneficiary will oversee professional subordinates with bachelor"s degrees and 
substantial experience in the technical and scientific aspects of poultry hatching. In addition. the 
Petitioner intends to hire an employee to perform administrative functions. 
The evidence credibly establishes that the Beneficiary"s subordinates will relieve him from 
performing non-qualifying operational and administrative tasks so that he can perform primarily 
managerial duties. Further, the record demonstrates that the Beneficiary will manage the company. 
have the authority to hire and fire statl~ and will exercise discretion over the Petitioner"s day-to-day 
operations. See section 10l(a)(44)(A) ofthe Act. 
III. CONCLUSION 
The Petitioner has established that the Beneficiary would be employed in a managerial capacity 
within one year of the approval of the petition. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
Cite as Matter of H-N-A-. LLC, ID# 767388 (AAO Nov. 30. 20 17)