Managerial or executive capacity
Function manager
Whether the person manages an essential function at a senior level instead of performing it.
What USCIS is questioning
The legal standard
- INA 101(a)(44)(A)(ii) includes managing 'an essential function' within the organization, and (iii) accepts a senior-level position in place of personnel authority when no one is directly supervised.[3]
- Matter of G- (adopted decision) sets five points: the function is clearly defined; it is essential; the person primarily manages rather than performs it; acts at a senior level; and has discretion over its day-to-day operations.[1,2]
- USCIS also weighs the budgets, products or services managed, and treats authority to commit the company to a course of action or spending as important, though not decisive.[2]
How the request usually reads
- Interpretation RFEs typically ask the employer to identify the function, explain why it is essential, and show who performs its routine tasks so the person isn't doing them.[1,4]
- Interpretation They often ask for the person's place in the hierarchy and the scope of their decision-making authority.[2]
Evidence petitioners often provide
- High confidence Organizational and workflow charts showing the function, the person's place and the staff, including staff elsewhere in the group, who do the routine work.[1,5]
- High confidence A duty breakdown with time percentages showing mostly managing: strategy, policy, oversight and decisions.[1]
- Interpretation Evidence of budget authority and of decisions the person made for the function.[2]
Where responses go wrong
AAO decisions on this issue
- Matter of G- Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-05 (AAO Nov. 8, 2017)
Adopted decision: a function manager must show a clearly defined, essential function that the person primarily manages at a senior level with day-to-day discretion; the FP&A director in the case qualified because staff performed the routine work.
- Matter of Z-A-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2016-02 (AAO Apr. 14, 2016)
Adopted decision (L-1A): a function manager may do some operational tasks but must primarily manage; officers weigh the whole record, including staff of the wider organization who support the role.
- AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 43475714 (June 24, 2026)
The foreign role wasn't shown to be managerial: claimed subordinates weren't documented, and no clearly defined essential function was identified that the person managed rather than performed.
This information is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship and does not predict the outcome of any individual case.
Sources
- 1.Matter of G- Inc., Adopted Decision 2017-05 (AAO Nov. 8, 2017)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Nov 8, 2017 · Checked Sep 27, 2026
- 2.USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 4 — Multinational Executive or ManagerUSCIS · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Sep 27, 2026
- 3.8 U.S.C. 1101 (INA 101) - Definitions, incl. 101(a)(15)(E), (H), (L), 101(a)(44), 101(a)(45)U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Law Revision Counsel · Statute · Checked Sep 27, 2026
- 4.AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 43475714 (June 24, 2026)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Jun 24, 2026 · Checked Sep 27, 2026
- 5.Matter of Z-A-, Inc., Adopted Decision 2016-02 (AAO Apr. 14, 2016)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Apr 14, 2016 · Checked Sep 27, 2026