Step-By-Step Process To Apply For EB-1C
Suppose you’ve led people, budgets, or essential business functions abroad, and your company needs you stateside. In that case, this guide explains the process and highlights exactly what matters for the EB-1C visa requirements.
What Is The EB-1C Category?
Let’s start simple: what is the EB-1C category or EB-1C visa? The EB1C category is a first-preference, employment-based green card for multinational executives and managers. If you worked outside the U.S. for at least one continuous year for a company that’s related to a U.S. entity (parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch) and you’re coming to lead here, you’re on the right path.
Unlike the L-1A, EB-1C isn’t temporary; it’s permanent residence. That means you, your spouse, and kids under 21 can live and work in the U.S. without the renewal treadmill. When clients ask if EB-1C is “worth the paperwork,” this is why we say yes: it converts leadership into long-term stability.
Step 1: Confirm You Meet EB-1C Visa Requirements
Before we draft a single line, we check the EB1C visa requirements (and yes, USCIS cares about real duties, not job titles).
Three nonnegotiable requirements:
1. One Year Abroad (Recent And Continuous).
You must have worked outside the U.S. for at least one continuous year within the last three years for the qualifying company.
2. Qualifying Company Relationship.
The U.S. employer must have a parent/branch/subsidiary/affiliate relationship with the foreign company. We prove this with ownership charts, corporate documents, and financials.
3. Executive Or Managerial Capacity.
You’ll either serve as an executive (setting goals, directing managers, making big calls) or as an EB1C functional manager, someone with authority over an essential function (think P&L, supply chain, global compliance), even if you don’t manage a large headcount.
If any one of these is off, the case wobbles. We fix gaps now, before they become a Request for Evidence later.
Step 2: Gather Clear, Honest Documentation
This is where we turn your day-to-day leadership into evidence that fits the EB-1c visa requirements. Think of it as telling your business story so an officer can follow along easily.
We typically collect:
- Org charts (foreign and U.S.) with your box, your reports, and who you report to.
- Detailed job descriptions showing executive decisions or functional management (scope, budgets, hiring/firing, and strategy).
- Employment verification letters that confirm dates, duties, and authority.
- Corporate docs proving the qualifying relationship (ownership charts, articles, audited statements).
- Performance reviews, strategy decks, or board memos that show your impact (cost savings, launches, expansions).
Step 3: File Form I-140 (Prove The Case On Paper)
Your U.S. employer files Form I-140 to ask USCIS to classify you in the EB-1c category. Good news: no PERM labour certification here, unlike EB-2/EB-3. That’s months saved.
Inside the I-140 packet:
- The legal argument ties your role to executive or managerial standards.
- The company-relationship proof (parent/sub/affiliate/branch).
- The evidence bundle you just assembled is cleanly indexed, labelled, and easy to read.
This is where many DIY cases go sideways. The facts are there, but the story is messy. We help you tell your story for the busy adjudicator: short headings, tight summaries, exhibits that do the talking.
Step 4: Choose Your Path To The Card (AOS Or Consular)
Once I-140 is approved (and a visa number is available), you finish the EB-1C green card process in one of two ways:
- Adjustment Of Status (AOS).
- If you’re in the U.S. lawfully, you file Form I-485 to “adjust” to permanent resident. You may also file for work authorization (EAD) and advance parole (AP) so you can work and travel while it’s pending.
- Consular Processing.
- If you’re abroad, you complete the green card interview at a U.S. embassy/consulate same destination permanent residence different route.
Either path ends with the EB-1c green card in your wallet and the freedom to plan for years.
Step 5: Bring Your Family Along (Derivatives)
Your spouse and unmarried kids under 21 can apply as derivatives of your EB-1C. For many clients, this is the first deep breath, the moment it becomes a family plan, not just a career move. With AOS, spouses often use the EAD to start working sooner; with consular, everyone enters as permanent residents together. Simple, predictable, life-changing.
Step 6: Understand The Timeline (And What You Control)
Timelines vary with workload and visa-number movement, but most EB-1C journeys run ~6–12 months end-to-end. There’s no PERM delay, which helps. Premium processing availability for EB-1C I-140s has evolved; if/when it’s offered, we’ll tell you exactly how it affects your case strategy.
What you can control: clean evidence, readable structure, and filing as soon as the EB-1C visa requirements are squared away. What you can’t control: background check queues and bulletin shifts. We plan around both, so there are fewer surprises.
Step 7: Avoid Common Pitfalls (So You Don’t Meet An RFE)
The fastest route to a delay is a preventable mistake. Here’s what we see most:
- Title ≠ Duties. A “Manager” who spends 90% of their time on individual contributor tasks won’t meet the EB1C visa requirements. We anchor the case in decision-making, budgets, policy, and people or functional leadership.
- Weak Company Relationship Proof. If the parent-sub diagram is fuzzy, USCIS will ask questions. We front-load ownership documents and financials.
- No Functional Management Story. For an EB1C functional manager, we prove control over an essential function with metrics, authority, and independence, not just dotted-line influence.
When in doubt, remember the audience: a smart, overworked officer who has 30 minutes to understand your business. Clarity wins.
Final Thoughts: Turn Leadership Into Permanence
You’ve already done the hard part, leading. EB-1C simply recognizes it. With the right proof, your move from temporary transfer to EB-1C green card can be calm and predictable. That’s what we build every day: petitions that feel like your work, clear, steady, and built to last.
Ready to start? At Passage Immigration Law, we translate real leadership into approvals under the EB1C category. We’ll check fit, organize evidence, and steer you through each step so you can focus on running the business, not chasing paperwork.
Let’s meet the EB-1c visa requirements with confidence, and give your family the stability you’ve earned.
Disclaimer: This article offers general legal information, not legal advice. Do not rely upon this information without seeking legal counsel. If you need legal advice, you may contact us directly to speak with an attorney. We disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken based on any information presented. Every case is different, and outcomes will vary depending on the unique facts and legal issues of your case.
