## Facts

- A U.S. construction company in Arizona petitioned to extend L-1A status for its president as an intracompany transferee.
- The petition was based on a claimed qualifying relationship with a Mexican company, Willma, S.A. de C.V.
- To show the corporate relationship, the petitioner submitted a self-prepared organizational chart, a U.S. stock certificate, U.S. articles of incorporation, and one untranslated Mexican tax receipt.
- To show executive/managerial capacity, the petitioner described the president’s duties and provided an organizational chart indicating supervision of an operations manager, a sales manager, and an administrative assistant, plus use of outside contractors.
- The duty description did not quantify how the beneficiary’s time would be allocated among tasks.
- The record indicated that some subordinates may have been part-time or intermittent, suggesting the beneficiary might perform substantial operational work.
- USCIS denied the extension for failure to establish both a qualifying relationship and an executive/managerial position; the petitioner appealed to the AAO.

## Issues

1. Whether the petitioner proved a qualifying parent/subsidiary, branch, or affiliate relationship between the U.S. company and the Mexican entity under INA § 101(a)(15)(L) and 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(l).
2. Whether the petitioner established that the beneficiary’s U.S. position would be primarily in an executive or managerial capacity, rather than primarily performing day-to-day operational duties.
3. Whether the petitioner met its burden of proof under INA § 291 by a preponderance of the evidence.

## Decision

- The AAO dismissed the appeal and affirmed the denial of the L-1A extension petition.
- The AAO found the evidence insufficient to prove a qualifying corporate relationship between the U.S. petitioner and the Mexican company.
- The AAO also found the evidence insufficient to show the beneficiary would be employed primarily in executive or managerial duties.

## Legal Principles

- The petitioner bears the burden to establish eligibility for the requested immigration benefit by a preponderance of the evidence.  
- For L-1 classification, a qualifying relationship must be shown through reliable documentary evidence demonstrating ownership and control; conclusory assertions and self-generated diagrams carry limited weight without corroboration.
- Foreign-language documents submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a complete English translation and translator certification; untranslated documents may be disregarded.
- To establish executive or managerial capacity, the petitioner must show the beneficiary will be primarily engaged in qualifying executive/managerial functions, not routine operational work.
- A generalized list of duties, without a detailed description and time allocation, is insufficient to demonstrate that executive/managerial duties will predominate.
- Staffing levels and organizational structure are relevant in determining whether the beneficiary is relieved from performing substantial non-qualifying operational tasks; an executive title alone is not determinative.

## Conclusion

The AAO affirmed denial of the L-1A extension because the petitioner did not provide adequate objective documentation of a qualifying relationship with the foreign entity and did not demonstrate, through detailed duty and staffing evidence, that the company president would work primarily in an executive or managerial capacity.


In re Anonymous, 2007 Immig. Rptr. LEXIS 14466 (A.A.O. 2007)