Company relationship

Ownership and control

Who legally owns and controls each company, and whether the documents prove it.

What USCIS is questioning

Who owns each entity, directly or indirectly, and in what share.^[1,2]
Whether the owner actually has the legal right to direct the entity's establishment, management and operations.^[2]

The legal standard

Ownership is the direct or indirect legal right of possession of an entity's assets with full power and authority to control it; control is the direct or indirect legal right and authority to direct its establishment, management and operations (Policy Manual, citing Matter of Church Scientology International).^[2]
Control based on proxy votes requires proxies that are irrevocable from filing through adjudication.^[2]
Affiliates owned by a group of individuals qualify only if each owns and controls approximately the same share of each entity (8 CFR 204.5(j)(2)).^[1]

How the request usually reads

Interpretation RFEs on control often ask how voting power is exercised, for example through board seats or voting agreements, when the ownership share alone doesn't show control.^[2]

Evidence petitioners often provide

Interpretation Complete, signed and dated stock certificates, the share ledger, and records of every share issuance and transfer.^[3,4]
Interpretation Board minutes, voting agreements or irrevocable proxies when control doesn't follow ownership.^[2]

Where responses go wrong

Interpretation An unsigned, undated or incomplete stock certificate.^[3]
Interpretation A share ledger with gaps, such as shares transferred that were never shown as issued.^[4]

AAO decisions on this issue

Matter of Church Scientology International, 19 I&N Dec. 593 (Comm'r 1988)
Precedent (INS Commissioner, 1988): ownership and control are the factors that establish a qualifying relationship; ownership is the legal right to possess the assets with full power to control, and control is the legal right to direct the entity's establishment, management and operations.
AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 42456590 (Apr. 29, 2026)
Remanded: the record showed doing business, but the stock certificate offered as proof of ownership was unsigned, undated and incomplete, and foreign documents lacked translator certifications.
AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 42917310 (Aug. 7, 2026)
Ownership wasn't proven where the ledger omitted the original share issuance and the tax returns contradicted the claimed ownership.

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

1.8 CFR 204.5 - Petitions for employment-based immigrantseCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · 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.AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 42456590 (Apr. 29, 2026)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Apr 29, 2026 · Checked Sep 27, 2026
4.AAO non-precedent decision, Form I-140 multinational manager or executive, In Re: 42917310 (Aug. 7, 2026)USCIS Administrative Appeals Office · AAO decision · Published Aug 7, 2026 · Checked Sep 27, 2026
5.Matter of Church Scientology International, 19 I&N Dec. 593 (Comm'r 1988)Legacy INS Commissioner (published by DOJ EOIR in the DHS/AAO/INS precedent decisions series) · AAO decision · Published Mar 15, 1988 · Checked Sep 27, 2026