sustained L-1A Case: Property Development

U.S. Citizenship 
and Immigration 
Services 
Non-Precedent Decision of the
Administrative Appeals Office 
Date: DEC. 21, 2023 In Re: 29300006 
Appeal of California Service Center Decision 
Form 1-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (L-lA Manager or Executive) 
The Petitioner, a property development company, seeks to continue temporarily employing the 
Beneficiary as regional head of the United States. The company requests an extension of her L-lA 
nonimmigrant visa petition as an intracompany transferee who would work in an "executive capacity." 
See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 10l(a)(15)(L), 8 U.S.C. § l 10l(a)(15)(L). 
The Director of the California Service Center denied the requested extension. Declining to defer to 
the Petitioner's prior approved L-lA extension for the Beneficiary, the Director concluded that the 
company did not demonstrate her proposed employment in the claimed executive capacity. On appeal, 
the Petitioner contends that the Director overlooked evidence and should have followed the prior 
approval. 
The Petitioner bears the burden of demonstrating eligibility for the requested benefit by a 
preponderance of the evidence. Matter of Chawathe, 25 l&N Dec. 369, 375-76 (AAO 2010). 
Exercising de novo appellate review, see Matter of Christo 's, Inc., 26 I&N Dec. 537, 537 n.2 (AAO 
2015), we agree with the Petitioner that the Director should have deferred to the prior L-lA approval 
in this matter. We will therefore sustain the appeal. 
I. LAW 
An intracompany transferee is a noncitizen who, for at least one continuous year in the three years 
before their initial U.S. admission in nonimmigrant status, worked abroad and seeks to enter the 
country to temporarily work for a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of their foreign employer in a 
capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge. Section 101(a)(15)(L) of 
the Act; 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(A). If a U.S. petitioner seeks to employ them in a managerial or 
executive capacity, they seek L-lA classification. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
(USCIS), "Instructions for Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker," 16, www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/ 
document/forms/i-129instr.pdf; see also 8 C.F.R. § 103.2(a)(l) (incorporating form instructions into 
the regulations). If the proposed U.S. work involves specialized knowledge, they seek L-lB 
classification. Id. 
II. ANALYSIS 
The record shows that the Beneficiary, an Indian native and citizen, started working for the Petitioner's 
affiliate in India as a co-managing director in 2012. She has worked for the Petitioner in the United 
States in L-lA status in the offered position of regional head since 2019. The company's prior 
approved petition for her extended her L-lA status in an executive capacity through March 2023. 
USCIS should not defer to prior nonimmigrant visa petition approvals involving the same parties and 
underlying facts if: the approvals involved material errors; circumstances or eligibility requirements 
have changed; or new material information adversely affects eligibility. See generally 2 USCIS Policy 
Manual A.(4)(B)(l), www.uscis.gov/policy-manual. Otherwise, the Agency should generally follow 
prior approvals. Id. "[D]eviation from a previous approval carries important consequences and 
implicates predictability and consistency concerns." Id. 
The Director found that the Petitioner's current L-lA petition for the Beneficiary does not demonstrate 
her proposed continued employment in the claimed executive capacity. Concluding that 
circumstances have changed, the Director declined to defer to the prior L-lA approval. 
Contrary to the Director's finding, however, the record sufficiently supports the Beneficiary's 
proposed employment in an executive capacity. The record demonstrates that, consistent with the 
definition of "executive capacity" at section 101 (a)( 44 )(B) of the Act, she would continue directing 
the management of a major component of the Petitioner's organization - a hotel/restaurant - and 
establishing its goals and policies. The record also establishes that, by the petition's filing, the 
organization had staffing sufficient to allow her to primarily focus on executive-level duties. 
A preponderance of the evidence demonstrates the continuing executive nature of the Beneficiary's 
proposed employment. Thus, the Director should have deferred to USCIS' prior approval in this 
matter. 
ORDER: The appeal is sustained. 
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