Definition of affiliation and subsidiary

The USCIS rules contain definitions of affiliate and subsidiary for purposes of determining whether an employer qualifies to use the first preference.

Affiliate is defined to mean:

  1. one of two subsidiaries both of which are owned and controlled by the same parent or individual;
  2. one of two legal entities owned and controlled by the same group of individuals, each individual owning and controlling approximately the same share or proportion of each entity; or
  3. international accounting firms.

Subsidiary is defined to mean:

a firm, corporation, or other legal entity of which a parent owns, directly or indirectly,

  1. more than half of the entity and controls the entity;
  2. 50% of a fifty-fifty joint venture and has equal control and veto power over the entity; or
  3. less than half of the entity, but in fact controls the entity.
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