I was a company director abroad for 8 months, but lived outside the country for 1 year. The actual role was only 8 months. Does EB-1C apply?

The EB-1C category is designed for executives and managers of multinational companies who bring their experience to a U.S. operation. A central requirement of this category is having held an executive or managerial role abroad for a qualifying period within a recent window prior to the petition.

In the scenario you describe, the decisive detail is not how long you lived abroad, but rather how long you actually held the managerial position. Time of residence and time in a managerial function are different things, and what the authorities evaluate is the latter.

If the actual time in the role fell short of what the category requires, eligibility for EB-1C may be at risk. Even so, every career path has nuances (overlapping functions, titles, and actual scope of responsibilities) that deserve careful review before drawing any conclusions.

For that reason, it is worth gathering documentation of your professional history, confirming the updated requirements with USCIS, and having a specialist evaluate your case, who can also identify other possible pathways if EB-1C does not apply.

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Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

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As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.