Multinational Managers & Executives

This is an employment-based permanent residence petition reserved for certain managers and executives who have transferred or will transfer from a managerial or executive position with a company abroad into a similar high-level position with a related entity in the United States.  The applicant must have worked for the foreign entity in a qualifying managerial or executive position for at least one year within the three years preceding entry to the US and must be employed in a managerial or executive position in the US.

The government has laid out very specific guidelines for determining whether or not an individual is working in a “managerial capacity”, which includes only those who supervise the work of other supervisors, managers, or professionals.  This supervision must generally include the authority to hire, fire, and recommend personal actions for their direct reports. 

If an individual does not manage other people, they may still qualify under this category if they manage an essential function of the organization.  A manager of an essential function must operate at a senior level within the organization and must be responsible for one area of business activity (e.g. finance, marketing, production, engineering, operations, accounting, or sales).  Whether managing personnel or an essential function, the Multinational Manager must be engaged primarily in managerial duties, directing the day-to-day operations of the activity, department, or function. 

In a successful Immigrant Petition for Multinational Manager or Executive, a qualifying corporate relationship must exist between the applicant’s employer abroad and their employer in the US.  The applicant’s foreign employer and the US-based employer must have common ownership and control.  Some examples of qualifying relationships are: parent-subsidiary, affiliate, and certain joint ventures.  The related US and the foreign companies must be doing active business, and the US employer must have been doing business in US for at least one year.

The availability of immigrant visas (commonly known as “green cards”) is very limited.  In the United States, the government uses a quota system under which these visas are divided into various preference categories.  The Multinational Manager Immigrant Petition falls into the first preference category, and the demand for immigrant visas in this category is typically quite low.  Thus, the wait times for obtaining the green card in this category are comparably low.  In addition, the Multinational Manager Category does not require you to first obtain a Labor Certification, thus reducing the time and cost involved in the green card process.