Resources for 04-26-11 Seminar - AILA webCLE

WAC 07 277 53214Page 5I. Issue: Is the Petitioner Doing Business as a Qualifying Organization?The initial issue in this matter is whether the petitioner is doing business as a qualifying organization. As itrelates to this specific issue, the decision of the director will be withdrawn. As previously noted, theregulations require the petitioner to submit evidence that it and the foreign business which employed the alienare "qualifying organizations." 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(3)(i).The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(G) provides:"Qualifying organization" means a United States or foreign firm, corporation, or other legalentity which:(1) Meets exactly one of the qualifying relationships specified in the definitions of a parent,branch, affiliate or subsidiary specified in paragraph (1)(1 )(ii) ofthis section;(2) Is or will be doing business (engaging in international trade is not required) as anemployer in the United States and in at least one other country directly or through a parent,branch, affiliate, or subsidiary for the duration of the alien's stay in the United States as anintracompany transferee; and(3) Otherwise meets the requirements ofsection 101(a)(15)(L) ofthe Act.The regulation further provides that "doing business" means "the regular, systematic, and continuousprovision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does not include the mere presence ofanagent or office ofthe qualifying organization in the United States and abroad." 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(H).Finally, the regulations provide for a one-year approval for a "new office" that has been doing business forless than one year. See 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(7)(i)(A)(3). The term "new office" is defined as follows: "Newoffice means an organization which has been doing business in the United States through a parent, branch,affiliate, or subsidiary for less than one year." 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(1)(1)(ii)(F).Requestfor EvidenceThe director's adverse decision on this issue can be directly attributed to the information that the petitionerprovided on the original USCIS Form 1-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Given the regulatoryrequirements, the official Form 1-129 is designed to elicit information regarding the petitioner, the alien'soverseas employer, and the nature of the claimed qualifying organization. Although the petition clearlyindicated in Part 1 that the employer isServices, Inc., the petitioner indicated in Part 5 of theForm 1-129 that it was established in 1911; that it is engaged in information processing, manufacturing, salesand service; and that it has 355,000 employees and a gross annual income of $91.4 billion. In an addendumto the form, the petitioner also indicated that it was established in 2006 and that it was providing the corporatedata of its parent company, Corporation, because the data was not yet available. The petitioner