Recent Administrative Appeals Office Decision: Matter of F-M- Co.

A policy memorandum was recently released by USCIS involving Matter of F-M- Co. This new case clarifies an affirmative responsibility for petitioners of first-preference multinational executive or manager positions to notify USCIS of any corporate restructuring efforts affecting the foreign entity in which the multinational executive or manager works for. Matter of F-M- Co. clarifies two issues: (1) the petitioners of first preference multinational executives or managers must maintain a qualifying relationship between a parent company and its subsidiary or affiliate where the multinational executive or manager is employed with and that (2) petitioners of the multinational executive or manager may still maintain the relationship requirement if the foreign entity is affected by a corporate restructuring, if the petitioner can prove that the foreign entity employing the multinational executive or manager continues to exist and do business as a valid successor entity.

The AAO clarified in Matter of F-M-Co.  when a company undergoes a corporate structure change during a beneficiary’s adjudication process, the petitioner has the responsibility to notify USCIS and to disclose and document the merger of the foreign employer into its parent company.

Specifically, in the event a corporate restructuring affecting the foreign entity occurs prior to the filing of a first preference multinational executive or manager petition, a petitioner may establish that the beneficiary’s qualifying foreign employer continues to exist and do business through a valid successor entity. If these conditions are met, USCIS will consider the successor-in-interest to be the same entity that employed the beneficiary abroad.

A non-exhaustive list of document examples demonstrating the effectuation of a corporate restructuring include company, shareholder, and board minutes (whichever is applicable), and any agreements surrounding the merger of a parent company and its subsidiary or affiliate, and any financial or corporate transactions.

Just because a petition is submitted does not mean a petitioner’s responsibilities are over. This new clarification sheds great light on the affirmative responsibilities of petitioners to provide new information to USCIS during a petition’s adjudication. From the submission stage to the adjudication stage, it is important for petitioners to maintain good practices by providing USCIS with new developments surrounding its case.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/files/Matter_of_F-M-_Co._Adopted_AAO_Decision_2020-01.pdf