My company opened a U.S. office and I was a manager abroad. Have I already completed the qualifying period for the EB-1C?

The EB-1C category is designed for managers and executives of multinational companies who are transferred to a branch, affiliate, or parent entity in the United States. One of its core pillars is having served, for a qualifying period, in a managerial or executive role at a company related to the one receiving the professional in the U.S., within a recent time window prior to the transfer.

Since your question centers precisely on that experience requirement, the key issue is whether your time as a manager abroad already meets the required duration. If that period is still incomplete, the basic time requirement may not have been satisfied; that determination depends on specific criteria and on how your professional history is documented.

Beyond the time element, other aspects are typically considered in the analysis, for example:

• The corporate relationship between the foreign company and the U.S. entity.
• The genuinely managerial or executive nature of your duties, not just your job title.
• The status and activity of the U.S. operation.

Because the exact timeframes and criteria are defined by law and evaluated on a case-by-case basis, avoid drawing your own conclusions. It is worth checking the updated requirements with USCIS and validating your eligibility with a specialist before filing.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

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.