Good news — this case cleared the first bar
The AAO withdrew SCOPS's denial and remanded for a new decision because SCOPS failed to adequately analyze the Beneficiary's job description and incorrectly assessed the qualifying foreign employment period.
A commercial and trading company filed an I-140 to permanently employ the Beneficiary as its president under the EB-1C multinational executive classification. SCOPS denied the petition and dismissed the subsequent motion to reopen, concluding that the Beneficiary's proposed duties were not qualifying and that he had not worked abroad for the required one year. The AAO found two fundamental legal errors: SCOPS failed to adequately analyze the detailed job duty evidence and wrongly implied current employment was required, and SCOPS applied an incorrect timeframe by ignoring the Beneficiary's documented foreign employment between December 2013 and December 2016. The AAO withdrew the denial and remanded for a new decision with proper analysis.
What worked: The Beneficiary's detailed job duty breakdown—including percentage of time per duty and a weekly hourly schedule—was noted as evidence SCOPS failed to properly consider. Documentary evidence of foreign employment abroad from 2012 through December 2016 with only ~26 days of U.S. presence in 2014-2015 was sufficient to satisfy the one-year foreign employment requirement.
What failed: SCOPS's denial reasoning was found legally deficient on both the proposed employment and foreign employment issues; the AAO did not make any adverse findings against the Petitioner's evidence.
Takeaway: For EB-1C petitions, provide a granular job duty breakdown with time percentages and a sample weekly schedule to preempt vague-duties objections. Carefully document and present the chronology of the Beneficiary's foreign employment within the three-year window preceding the petition filing date.
Cases like this are frequently used by attorneys when responding to RFEs or building initial petitions. The evidence patterns that worked (or failed) here directly reflect what USCIS officers look for when evaluating EB-1C criteria.
● Evidence that moved the needle
- The Beneficiary's detailed job duty breakdown—including percentage of time per duty and a weekly hourly schedule—was noted as evidence SCOPS failed to properly consider
- Documentary evidence of foreign employment abroad from 2012 through December 2016 with only ~26 days of U.S
- presence in 2014-2015 was sufficient to satisfy the one-year foreign employment requirement.
● Evidence that wasn't enough alone
- SCOPS's denial reasoning was found legally deficient on both the proposed employment and foreign employment issues
- the AAO did not make any adverse findings against the Petitioner's evidence.
Job duty breakdown with percentage of time assigned to individual duties
Hourly breakdown offering a synopsis of the Beneficiary's typical weekly schedule
Evidence that Beneficiary was employed abroad with the foreign parent entity from 2012 through December 2016, with only approximately 26 days of U.S. presence in 2014 and 2015
SCOPS failed to provide sufficient analysis of specific deficiencies in the Beneficiary's job description, including the duty breakdown with percentage of time and hourly schedule
SCOPS incorrectly used present tense implying the Beneficiary must currently be employed in the qualifying role before petition approval, which has no statutory or regulatory basis
SCOPS failed to specify the relevant three-year timeframe for qualifying foreign employment and disregarded the Beneficiary's documented employment abroad prior to the petition filing date
SCOPS referenced a 'one-year timeframe' indicating it did not apply the correct legal standard of one year within the three years preceding petition filing
Completed
I-140 filed
President of a commercial and trading company
Completed
SCOPS — Denied
Initial decision: Denied.
Completed
Appeal to the AAO
Petitioner appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office for de novo review.
2026-04-23
AAO decision — Remanded
The AAO withdrew SCOPS's denial and remanded for a new decision because SCOPS failed to adequately analyze the Beneficiary's job description and incorrectly assessed the qualifying foreign employment period.
If you're appealing a similar decision, I-290B must be filed within 30 days of personal service of the denial, or 33 days if mailed.
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