US - EB1-3 Visa (Multinational Executive/ Manager)
EB-1C (also known as EB1-3) is considered one of the most valuable routes for highly skilled and senior international talent to acquire a U.S. green card; however, the requirements can be complex and case-by-case.
IAS supports employers and executives in planning their EB-1C visa application with confidence, avoiding common pitfalls, and ensuring full compliance with U.S. immigration law. Call us on +1 844 290 6312 for immediate help & assistance with your situation. We’re here to help you in person, by phone, or online.
EB1-3 Visa
The third EB1 Visa or EB1-C is for those who are managers or executives. To qualify for this, you will need to be an executive or manager of a multinational corporation.
If approved, you will be able to live, work and settle in the United States on a permanent basis. It will also allow your unmarried spouse entry to the country and any children who are not married and under the age of 21.
The EB1 visa is one of the most popular permanent residency cards for two reasons:
- It can be issued faster than other types of visas, and there are no arbitrary waiting times.
- There is also no PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) process requirement. That means the Department of Labor (DOL) does not have to carry out a market test to see if the vacancy can be filled domestically.
Get Expert Assistance with EB1-3 Visa Applications
The Immigration Advice Service has a team of expert US-based immigration lawyers who are experienced in employment-based immigration applications, including for executive and managerial positions on the EB-1 visa pathway.
Your dedicated case-work attorney can help you with all aspects of your EB-1 application process, including eligibility checks, reviewing your application, gathering documentation, filing your forms, the interview process with the USCIS, and ensuring your visa application has the highest possible chance for success. To make an enquiry call +1844 290 6312 or use the online form today.
What is the EB-1C (Multinational Executive/Manager) Green Card?
The EB-1C visa is for multinational executives and managers who are moving to a long-term leadership position for a U.S. company that is part of the same international corporate group as a current employer. It is a green-card application potentially leading to US citizenship by naturalisation after five years.
Unlike other employment-based visas, a job offer can be made with fewer restrictions on the employer-side. There is no PERM labor certification stage in the application process. A U.S. employer that fulfils the requirements can file a Form I-140 directly, asking that you be classified as a multinational executive or manager.
Once your petition is approved and a visa number is available, you can either move to the green card stage in the US or through a consulate abroad. An EB-1C visa is particularly beneficial for international organisations that wish to transfer senior leadership to the U.S. to drive strategy, build out operations, or run an important function.
- What is EB1-C Visa (Green-Card)
- Basic Eligibility Requirements
- Managerial vs. Executive Roles: USCIS Definitions
- What USCIS is Looking for
- How to File an I-140 Petition for EB-1C
- Risks of RFE (Request for Evidence) and How to Avoid Them
- The Two-Step Adjudication Process and the “Final Merits” Standard
- Premium Processing and Times for Processing
- What Happens After I-140: Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing
- Corporate Structuring and Planning Strategies for Employers
- Risk Factors and Following the Rules at Work
- Considerations After Getting Your Green Card for EB-1C Beneficiaries
- Putting the Rules into Action in the Real World
- How IAS Can Help with EB-1C Applications
Basic Eligibility Requirements
In practice, EB-1C is based on three things: your job outside the U.S., your job in the U.S., and the corporate structure that connects the two.
Employment overseas in a managerial or executive role
You must have worked for a qualifying company outside of the United States for at least one continuous year in the three years before the petition (or before you last entered in a qualifying non-immigrant category).
You must have been in a managerial or executive role. A qualifying overseas position does not mean automatic approval. It is not a formality. USCIS will look at the function of your role day-to-day, and whether you genuinely managed skilled people or fulfilled an important function.
A U.S. employer that has been “doing business” for at least a year
Before filing the I-140, the U.S. petitioning company must have been doing business for at least a year. Doing business means regularly providing goods or services, with proof in the form of contracts, invoices, payroll, and other documents.
A registered office that does not actually trade will not work. It is important to note that EB-1C does not have a “new office” option. If the U.S. entity has been in business for less than a year, you should usually start with an L-1A strategy instead of going straight to EB-1C.
Qualifying Relationship to Overseas Employer
The overseas employer and the U.S. petitioning company must have a qualifying relationship, such as being a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. That relationship has to stay the same throughout the case. The U.S. company must also show that it can pay the wage offered from the I-140 priority date onwards. This is usually done with tax returns, audited accounts, or other financial records. In simple terms, the main threshold is:
- You need to have worked as a manager or executive in the group for a continuous period and recently in another country
- The U.S. company must be a real business that has been in business for at least a year
- The U.S. and overseas businesses must be clearly part of the same corporate family, and the U.S. business must be able to pay your salary.
Managerial vs. Executive Roles: USCIS Definitions
Titles like “Director” or “VP” help, but they do not make the final decision. USCIS looks at what the job really entails.
Managerial Roles
A role is generally managerial if it mostly involves managing other employees or a key business function instead of providing the product or service itself. There are two common patterns:
- Personnel managers are in charge of hiring and firing, managing performance, setting budgets, and running the day-to-day operations of professional or other managerial staff.
- Function managers in charge of a major company function, like regional finance, global compliance, or supply chain, can be in charge of a small group of people as long as they are at a high level and have real power over that function.
Executive ability
Executive capacity is a bigger step up. An executive makes the rules, strategies, goals, forecasts and can oversee operational elements for the company and is a pivotal part of it.
Executives have freedom to make decisions and only receive general guidance from higher-level executives, a board, or shareholders.
Setting direction, approving big projects, allocating resources, and representing the organisation at the highest level are all strategic tasks that need to be done every day.
What USCIS is looking for
A strong case for an application connects the rules to the organization’s reality instead of using general phrases about leadership. It must show and not just tell of the role you fulfill in an organisation. USCIS aims to read between the lines to realize your contribution.
USCIS usually looks at:
- Organisational charts for both the foreign and U.S. entities, showing layers of staff beneath you
- Detailed job descriptions with time allocations and clear separation between strategic and operational duties
- Information about the size and nature of the business: revenue, headcount, markets, and locations
Risks of RFE (Request for Evidence) & How to Avoid
Request for evidence (RFE) is when USCIS cannot fully assess your role or feel your role does not meet the specifications and need further documentation to prove that it does (if it does) and support a petition. RFEs are common with EB-1C petitions when the evidence is weak or poorly organised. USCIS uses standard RFE templates for many evidence requests, so the same themes keep coming up.
You can lower the risk by making sure that the first filing explains the business model, the group structure, and where your role fits into that picture. When RFEs do come in, the most successful responses usually include more evidence along with a clearer explanation, rather than adding more documents to the file. Some common pressure points are:
- Organisational charts that show the “manager” only supervising junior or non-professional staff
- Job descriptions that sound like a senior individual contributor, with a lot of hands-on work and not much direction or control
- Not much proof that the U.S. entity is really trading, especially since revenue and headcount are still low
How to file an I-140 petition for EB-1C
The employer in the U.S. files Form I-140 in the EB-1C category.
What makes a good petition
The petition usually has a support letter that explains the group’s structure, your role overseas, and the role you will play in the U.S., all in line with the rules. Organisational charts, corporate documents that show who owns and controls the business, job descriptions for both roles, business plans or summaries if needed, and financial records that show that the business is still running and can pay its bills are all proof of this.
For any documents that are not in English, you need a full, certified translation. The filing location depends on the employer’s situation and is checked against the most recent USCIS filing instructions at the time of submission.
Timing considerations
Timing changes around that requirement because you have to have worked in a qualifying overseas job for at least one full year in the last three years. The three-year look-back is different for executives who are already in the U.S. on L-1A status. To avoid accidentally breaking the qualifying period, you often need to plan ahead for assignments, promotions, and secondments.
The Two-Step Adjudication Process and the “Final Merits” Standard
Kazarian v. USCIS cases
USCIS judges now use a two-step analysis for EB-1 and EB-2 petitions. This changed in 2010 when Poghos Kazarian eventually successfully appealed his EB-1 visa refusal on 22 December 2010. This led to a change in the USCIS adjudication process to a “two-step review.”
This dual process means that petitioners should not view EB-1C as a means to simply check boxes. The paperwork needs to tell a clear story about the business, its global setup, and how your job fits into that structure.
Step one: minimum requirements
First, USCIS checks if the applicant technically meets the rules, such as having an eligible overseas job, a valid relationship between the two companies, a managerial or executive job offer in the U.S., proof of doing business in the U.S., and the ability to pay. At this point, the case can fail if any of the main parts are missing.
Step two: the final merits
Once the eligibility criteria are met, USCIS then requests that the evidence show that this is a senior multinational managerial or executive role in substance, not just in form. The second step is where cases that look good on paper sometimes fail because the big picture does not seem convincing.
What Happens After I-140: Adjustment of Status vs. Consular Processing
You move on to the green card stage once the I-140 is approved and the Visa Bulletin says that the priority date is current. The two main ways are:
- Adjustment of Status: If you are in the US in a qualifying non-immigrant status, you can file Form I-485 (and other work and travel applications) for yourself and any eligible dependents.
- Consular processing: for individuals living outside the U.S. or those seeking this option, the process involves the National Visa Center and an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. consulate.
In either case, you need to carefully plan out your visa number availability, travel plans, and family situation, especially if you may need to return to the head office country or other regional offices in the future.
Corporate Structuring and Planning Strategies for Employers
From the employer’s point of view, EB-1C is effective or ineffective based on how well it enables the business to operate.
Relationship and control that qualify
Group diagrams should clearly indicate who owns and controls what, even if holding companies, joint ventures, or trusts are involved. All of the following should point in the same direction: share registers, shareholder agreements, and board resolutions. If a proposed restructuring, merger, or divestiture could end the qualifying relationship, the immigration effects should be discussed as part of the planning process, not as an afterthought.
Making a U.S. platform that people can trust
EB-1C assumes that there is a real U.S. business that needs senior leaders. That usually means that there are employees on the ground, real revenue or contract pipelines, and infrastructure that is appropriate for the role being sponsored. A U.S. company that only owns intellectual property or signs invoices between its own companies but does not have any employees will raise red flags.
Risk Factors and Following the Rules at Work
You need to take care of two types of risks: the businesses’ health and the accuracy of what USCIS has been told.
The petition’s basis can be revoked if the overseas or U.S. entity closes, is sold, or is merged into another entity before the visa is issued. Additionally, if USCIS visits the site and determines that the sponsored role primarily involves hands-on technical work rather than management or executive-level decision-making, this can negatively impact both current and future applications.
Maintaining accurate records of corporate ownership, group structures, financial accounts, payroll, HR files, and job descriptions, and ensuring they align with the information submitted in immigration cases, is a tedious yet essential part of effective compliance.
Putting the Rules into Action in the Real World
Example
A European tech company with a profitable parent company, with several subsidiaries in other countries, and a U.S. branch that has been around for three years. The group wants its Chief Operating Officer, who is based in Europe, to move to the United States to run North American operations. In that case, a well-thought-out EB-1C plan would:
- Make sure that the COO has spent at least one full year in the last three years in a real managerial or executive role with the European parent.
- Map the proposed U.S. role onto a structure that includes managers and professional staff beneath the COO, clearly delegating operational tasks.
- Prepare an ownership chart that links the European parent and the U.S. subsidiary, accompanied by supporting corporate documents.
- Provide evidence that the U.S. entity has real operations: staff, premises, contracts, and revenue consistent with needing a regional COO.
If the U.S. business is less than a year old or not fully operational, it may be better to start with an L-1A and then plan to grow the U.S. business until an EB-1C petition becomes feasible. The law stays the same; only the timing and order of events change.
Considerations After Getting Your Green Card for EB-1C Beneficiaries
When you get a green card, it is not a short-term deal. It is expected that you will hold a sponsored managerial or executive position for an extended period. If you quickly move into a non-managerial role or leave the company entirely, that may not cause problems right away, but it could raise questions in rare or extreme situations.
It is normal for companies to reorganize, promote people, and make reasonable lateral moves within the group as long as your duties stay at about the same level. To become a U.S. citizen in the future, you will need to follow the rules for residence and physical presence, and avoid prolonged absences that may suggest your main home is elsewhere. If you frequently travel for work, obtaining re-entry permits and planning your travel carefully can be beneficial.
How IAS Can Help with EB-1C Applications
For most businesses, an EB-1C case is more than just filling out forms; it is a small business project. IAS can help by reviewing your structure and roles early on and pointing out where changes or additional evidence may be needed. They can also help you write job descriptions and organizational charts that accurately show how the business works and how it meets regulatory requirements.
We help employers and executives get the paperwork ready for Form I-140, set up translations and certifications, and help U.S. lawyers by giving them clear, business-focused stories that lower the risk of RFEs. Once you receive the go-ahead, we can assist you with the adjustment or consular stage, provide guidance on planning your travel and where to live, and help you prepare for your long-term settlement and citizenship. The goal is to simplify a complex process, making it easy to understand and control, so that business decisions can be made based on business reasons, rather than immigration uncertainty.
Legal Disclaimer
The information provided is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, the law may change, and the information may not reflect the most current legal developments. No warranty is given regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information, and we do not accept liability in such cases. We recommend consulting with a qualified lawyer at Immigration Advice Service before making any decisions based on the content provided.
Last modified on November 24th, 2025 at 10:12 am
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Frequently Asked Questions
Because obtaining an EB1 Visa also secures a Green Card, the EB1 Visa process can be stringent and difficult. Having said this, it is more than possible to make a successful application.
To do so will involve both the employer and the foreign employee. The first is that the employer in the USA submits the necessary documents. If that is successful, the employee then goes to a US Embassy in their home country and applies for the EB1 visa themselves.
If you are applying for the EB1-3 Visa as an executive, an employer must submit the documents on your behalf.
Usually, the UCSIS requires a Labour Certification for EB3 Visas and other work permits. The good news with the EB1-3 is that you do not have to get this PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) approval.
In addition, it means the DOL does not have to carry out a market test to see if the job can be filled domestically.
In order to qualify for the EB1-3 Visa as an executive, you must have a valid job offer from the organisation which has had a branch or subsidiary in the foreign country you were employed with or worked from.
The time it takes to process an EB1 Visa can be anything from a few months to a few years. There is a cap though, which means the actual length of time it takes can be very long. It all depends on when you apply and whether you are next in line from the USCIS.
If the yearly cap has already been reached, there are several other visas to be employed in a U.S.-based branch of your company. For example, the L1 Visa petition processing time is usually shorter.
The EB1 Visa is used as three routes of entry to the US: the extraordinary ability visa, the outstanding professor visa and the executive visa. For the extraordinary ability visa, you must be able to showcase you have an exceptional capability of being able to perform a specific job or role.
For the outstanding professor visa, you must be an internationally recognised academic in your particular field.
And for the executive visa, you must be a multinational manager or executive who have been working for a US branch for at least one year out of the last three years. Their position in the USA must be at the same level or greater than in the country from which they have come.
The EB1-3 Executive Visa is one of the hardest US visas to obtain. That’s why, here at IAS, we ensure that we are closely scrutinising your application to ensure it receives a successful outcome.
Our specially-trained lawyers will be able to advise you on the visa and how to submit a successful application, including what to do in the interview with the USCIS.
