EB-1C Employment first preference: multinational manager or executive
EB-1C is the permanent equivalent of the L-1A visa: it moves a manager or executive from a company abroad to a related company in the United States. No labour certification is needed and no advanced degree is required. What must be proved is that the role abroad and the role offered here are genuinely managerial or executive rather than merely senior.
- Duration
- permanent
- Extensions
- Not applicable. Residence is unconditional and renewed with Form I-90 every ten years. An approved I-140 keeps its priority date.
- Work
- Yes, without restriction once residence is granted. An EAD under (c)(9) is available while the I-485 is pending. The position is employer-specific until residence is granted, subject to AC21 portability after 180 days.
- Dependents
- Spouse and unmarried children under 21 are derivatives, admitted in E-14 and E-15 status, with the same priority date, and may accompany or follow to join.
- Path to a green card
- The U.S. employer files the I-140. Where a number is available the beneficiary may file Form I-485 concurrently; applicants abroad consular process on the DS-260. Naturalisation follows five years after residence.
- Processing time
- Premium processing for the E13 classification carries a 45 business day timeframe, not 15, for $2,965 - EB-1C and the EB-2 national interest waiver are the two slower premium classifications. Standard times are at egov.uscis.gov/processing-times and are unverified here. For Chinese and Indian nationals the queue governs: 01JUL23 and 15OCT22 in September 2026.
- Annual cap and waiting lines
- Shares the EB-1 allocation: 28.6% of the FY2026 worldwide employment-based limit of 186,317, plus numbers unused by the fourth and fifth preferences. Per-country limit 28,862 (29,136 with carryover). September 2026 EB-1 final action dates: all chargeability areas C, China-mainland born 01JUL23, India 15OCT22, Mexico C, Philippines C. Dates for filing: all areas C, China 01DEC23, India 01DEC23, Mexico C, Philippines C. The bulletin warns EB-1 India may become unavailable before the end of FY2026.
Who qualifies
- A person employed outside the United States for at least one year in the three years preceding the petition, in a managerial or executive capacity
- Where the person is already working for the U.S. petitioner, someone who had that year of qualifying employment abroad in the three years preceding their most recent lawful nonimmigrant admission
- A person coming to work in a managerial or executive capacity for a U.S. employer that has a qualifying relationship - parent, subsidiary, affiliate or branch - with the foreign employer
- Typically an L-1A holder converting to permanent residence, though L-1A status is not a prerequisite
Requirements
- One year of qualifying employment abroad in a managerial or executive capacity within the relevant three-year window
- The U.S. petitioner must have been doing business for at least one year before filing
- A qualifying corporate relationship between the U.S. petitioner and the foreign entity, documented through ownership and control evidence
- An offer of employment in a managerial or executive capacity, with an organisational chart and a description of who the beneficiary supervises or what function they manage
- Evidence of the petitioner's continuing ability to pay the offered wage as of the priority date
- No labour certification is required
- Admissibility under INA 212(a) or an available waiver
How to apply
- 1
Document the corporate relationship first - share registers, stock certificates, consolidated accounts. This is where most EB-1C petitions fail.
- 2
Document the year abroad: the role, the organisational level, who reported to the beneficiary, and what discretion they held.
- 3
The U.S. employer files Form I-140 with an organisational chart for the offered position, the job description, and ability-to-pay evidence.
- 4
Add Form I-907 for premium processing at $2,965 where the timeline matters.
- 5
Where a number is available, file Form I-485 concurrently or afterwards, with I-765 and I-131 as needed; otherwise consular process on the DS-260.
- 6
Attend biometrics and, if scheduled, the adjustment interview.
Fees and forms
| Form I-140, paper filing | $715 |
| Form I-140, online filing | $665 |
| Asylum Program Fee, employer with more than 25 full-time employees | $600 |
| Asylum Program Fee, small employer of 25 or fewer full-time employees | $300 |
| Form I-907 premium processing for an I-140 | $2,965 |
| Form I-485, applicant 14 or older, paper | $1,440 |
| Form I-765 with an I-485 filed on or after 1 April 2024 | $260 |
| DS-260 employment-based immigrant visa application processing | $345 per person |
| USCIS Immigrant Fee | $235 per person |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- 5 August 2026 - policy update PA-2026-05 permits denial for missing initial evidence without an RFE or notice of intent to deny. EB-1C petitions turn on documentary corporate evidence, so this is a material change of risk.
- September 2026 Visa Bulletin, note E - EB-1 may go unavailable for India before the end of FY2026.
- 1 March 2026 - I-140 premium processing rose to $2,965, with a 45 business day timeframe for EB-1C.
- 1 January 2026 - annual inflation adjustment to the H.R. 1 fees.
- 29 April 2026 - DHS final rule implementing the H.R. 1 fees and related procedures.
- 21 May 2026 - USCIS policy memorandum PM-602-0199 treating adjustment of status as an extraordinary discretionary relief.
- 20 July 2026 - public charge final rule rescinding the 2022 regulations, effective 18 September 2026.
- FY2026 - worldwide employment-based limit 186,317. No EB-1C-specific policy change was issued in 2025 or 2026.
Where it goes wrong
- Calling a role managerial because the title says manager. USCIS looks at who is supervised, whether they are professionals, and what authority the beneficiary actually holds over personnel or an essential function. A first-line supervisor does not qualify unless the people supervised are themselves professionals.
- New offices. The U.S. entity must have been doing business for at least a year before filing, so a newly opened branch is categorically ineligible however senior the beneficiary is.
- Small U.S. entities. A three-person office rarely supports a genuine managerial or executive position.
- Assuming an approved L-1A guarantees EB-1C. The standards overlap but are not identical, and an L-1A approval is not binding on the I-140 adjudicator.
- A corporate relationship that existed at the time of the L-1A but has since been restructured away.
- Gaps in the year abroad. The qualifying year must be continuous and inside the three-year window, and time in the United States generally does not count toward it.
- For Indian nationals, treating the September 2026 EB-1 date as stable when the bulletin flags it as at risk.
Also in employment preference
Not sure this is the one? Describe your situation and the finder will name the options worth exploring. None of this is legal advice; eligibility turns on facts a page cannot see.