Securing L-1A Status: Overturning USCIS Denial with an I-290B Motion
April 3, 2026

Table of Contents

The Law Offices of Sabrina Li has been successful in assisting another client. We would like to share their case with you.

Our client hired our office for an L-1A change of status application. Our office diligently filed an application stating our client would be employed as an executive and included plenty of documentation regarding the corporation’s payroll, taxes, and other corporate materials.

Despite our extensive evidence to the contrary, USCIS claimed that the corporation did not have sufficient staff so that our client could qualify as a manager or executive. USCIS thereafter denied the client’s I-129 Petition.

However, our office did not take this lying down. Instead, we filed an I-290B motion to reopen, requesting that USCIS reopen the case so they could make a different decision. In our I-290B, we pointed out that USCIS misinterpreted the documents provided and erroneously stated that the corporation did not have enough employees. Our client entered a co-employment arrangement with a professional employer organization. Under this arrangement, this organization assumed certain employer responsibilities, including the processing and reporting employees’ wages and payroll taxes. Therefore, federal and state payment taxes for all wages were reported under this organization’s name and NOT under our client. We provided a detailed explanation with additional documents to rebut USCIS’s incorrect assessment.

Our arguments were successful, and USCIS reopened our client’s case. On the same day, the case was reopened, our client’s I-129 was approved, and he was given an L-1A status.

To qualify for an L-1A, the employer must:

  • Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company; and
  • Have an office doing business in the United States.

The employee must:

  • Have been working for the employer abroad for one year within the last three years; and
  • Have an offer of employment as an executive or manager for the employer’s U.S. office.

If you or someone you know has encountered a similar issue and needs the assistance of qualified professionals, please do not hesitate to contact our office at 213-375-8096. We are here to help!

寻求帮助?

李想律师事务所
精于处理移民疑难杂案

联系我们

全方位关注

个性化定制

我们为每位客户提供量身定制的方案,确保您得到个性化关注和为您独特情况量身定制的策略。我们会根据您的需求或情况调整策略,确保您在移民过程的不同阶段之间实现无缝过渡。

激情与承诺

我们的团队由移民和第一代美国专业人士组成,还有来自不同文化背景的人。我们中的许多人对移民过程中面临的挑战有第一手的了解。这使我们能够提供基于真实理解的指导和支持。