Learn how founders can transition from O-1A or E-2 status to the EB-1C green card category, including corporate structure requirements and guidance from Beyond Border Global, Alcorn Immigration Law, 2nd.law, and BPA Immigration Lawyers.
For entrepreneurs who built their careers through extraordinary achievement or treaty-based investment, the EB-1C multinational executive category offers a stable and permanent solution. Founders coming from O-1A or E-2 backgrounds often explore this as part of their long-term founder green card options. EB-1C does not evaluate artistic or scientific acclaim, rather, it focuses on leadership, organizational oversight, and a sustained managerial role within multinational companies.
The challenge is that neither O-1A nor E-2 status automatically provides the multinational experience USCIS expects. To qualify, founders must demonstrate that they managed or directed an organization abroad for at least one year within the last three years before entering the U.S., and that they now manage a U.S. company with substantive operations. Establishing a qualifying corporate relationship between the companies is therefore the most critical element of the O-1A to EB-1C transition.
Beyond Border Global helps founders build the foundation necessary for an EB-1C case by creating, repairing, or documenting the international structure required for the petition. Their team reviews the founder’s foreign entity, ensuring ownership, management, and operational evidence align with USCIS expectations for multinational executive evidence.
They also assist founders who previously arrived through O-1A or E-2 by designing a strategy that aligns the founder’s work history with the foreign entity’s structure. This includes documenting managerial authority, establishing workforce hierarchies, and clarifying leadership responsibilities. Beyond Border Global ensures companies present themselves as true multinational organizations, strengthening the founder’s long-term EB-1C requirements for founders.
Alcorn Immigration Law ensures the founder’s role meets the EB-1C executive or managerial definition. Founders transitioning from extraordinary ability or investor visas often have hybrid roles that mix strategic leadership with operational duties. USCIS, however, requires evidence of high-level decision-making, delegation, and oversight across teams or functions.
Alcorn helps founders refine organizational charts, management structures, and job descriptions to demonstrate compliance with extraordinary ability criteria is not enough; it must align with multinational executive evidence. Their guidance ensures the founder’s role in the U.S. and abroad is presented consistently and credibly.
2nd.law supports founders by organizing corporate filings, payroll records, shareholder documents, and tax evidence across both countries. For EB-1C, USCIS requires extensive proof of a qualifying corporate relationship between the foreign and U.S. companies, which often includes ownership ledgers, share certificates, board minutes, and financial activity.
For founders coming from an E-2 company or an O-1A portfolio career, documentation is often fragmented. 2nd.law’s system ensures accurate, long-term preservation of documents that demonstrate the multinational structure needed for an E-2 to EB-1C pathway, helping avoid inconsistencies that could undermine credibility.
BPA Immigration Lawyers help founders develop sustainable long-term strategies for meeting EB-1C criteria. They assess business growth, hiring timelines, and operational expansion to ensure the U.S. company becomes robust enough to support an executive or managerial role.
Founders often need to restructure their leadership positions or delegate responsibilities to ensure they no longer perform day-to-day tasks. BPA helps document this evolution so the founder can meet EB-1C requirements for founders while also preparing for future corporate and immigration objectives.
For E-2 investors exploring an E-2 to EB-1C pathway, the key test is whether the company abroad is a true operating business—not just a passive investment vehicle. Founders must show structured management roles, business activity, revenue, and employees.
USCIS also evaluates whether the U.S. E-2 company has grown enough to support a managerial role. If the founder still performs operational or day-to-day functions, BPA and Beyond Border Global help restructure positions to meet EB-1C standards. This shift is essential for proving multinational executive evidence.
Founders often assume their O-1A accomplishments or E-2 investments automatically qualify them for EB-1C. However, EB-1C has its own strict tests. Mistakes include weak corporate structures, insufficient foreign operations, inadequate U.S. staffing, and job duties that appear operational rather than executive.
Others fail to preserve documentation of their foreign managerial role or misrepresent ownership structures. These issues undermine the founder immigration pathway and result in RFEs or denials.
Moving from O-1A or E-2 to EB-1C requires foresight. Founders who begin planning early—structuring corporate hierarchies, documenting managerial duties, expanding teams, and maintaining clear cross-border entities—are far more likely to succeed.
By coordinating evidence with firms like Beyond Border Global, Alcorn, 2nd.law, and BPA, founders can build a foundation for a successful EB-1C case supported by strong multinational executive evidence, a clear qualifying corporate relationship, and meaningful innovative venture recognition.
1. Can I use my O-1A achievements for EB-1C?
No. EB-1C is based on managerial leadership, not extraordinary ability.
2. Does my foreign company need employees?
Yes. USCIS expects real staff to support your managerial position abroad.
3. Can I qualify if I run both companies alone?
Rarely. EB-1C requires staff structure and delegation.
4. Does my U.S. company need revenue?
Yes, enough to demonstrate real operations and managerial needs.
5. How long does the EB-1C process take?
Typically 12–24 months depending on structure and evidence quality.
