L-1 Visa Guide

The L non-immigrant visa category is one of the most useful tools available to international companies who need to bring qualified foreign employees to the United States. There are three types of transferees that can come to the U.S. on an L-1 visas:  (1) A manager, executive or employee with “specialized knowledge” can come to the U.S. to open a new office on behalf of the company abroad; (2) Company executives or managers may obtain an L-1A visa to work for a foreign company here in the U.S.; (2) Employees with specialized knowledge can obtain an L-1B visa to transfer from the foreign company to a U.S. office, subsidiary, or affiliated company to perform temporary services.

1.     L-1A New Office

(FILL SECTION)

2.     L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager

The L-1 A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. Employee to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  This classification also allows a foreign company that does not have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishes one.

Qualifications for L-1A

The sponsoring company must (1) have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company and (2) currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States.

The foreign national employee must (1) have been working for the qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the last three years and (2) be seeking to enter the United States to provide services in an executive or managerial capacity.

What Constitutes Executive Capacity?

(ADD SUMMARY)

What Constitutes Managerial Capacity?

(ADD SUMMARY)

Period of Stay for L-1A

Qualified employees entering United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year.

All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years. 

For all L-1A employees, a request for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years.

The maximum period of stay allowed on L-1A is seven years. 

Family of L-1 Workers

A transferring employee may be accompanied by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. 

Blanket Petitions

The L-1 Blanket petition is a procedure through which a very large company may pre-qualify to transfer its L-1 employees. Once the L-1 Blanket is approved, the company may transfer people to the U.S. on L-1 visa quickly and on short notice without having to file a separate petition for each employee with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

A company may qualify for a L-1 Blanket if its meets one or more of the following:

1.     U.S. company with at least 1,000 employees

2.     U.S. Company which has obtained an L-1 visa for at least ten of its employees during the previous 12 months

3.     U.S. company and related U.S. companies have combined annual sales of at least $25 million. 

3.     L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge

The L-1B visa allows for the intracompany transfer of a specialized knowledge employee of a foreign entity to a U.S. parent, affiliate, and subsidiary company.  The employee must perform services in a specialized knowledge position to the U.S. business.

General Qualifications for L-1B

The sponsoring company must (1) have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company and (2) currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States.

The foreign national employee must (1) have been working for the qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the last three years and (2) be seeking to enter the United States to provide services in a specialized knowledge capacity. 

What Constitutes Specialized Knowledge?

(ADD SUMMARY HERE)

Period of Stay for L-1B

Qualified employees entering United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year.

All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years. 

For all L-1B employees, a request for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years.

The maximum period of stay allowed on L-1B is five years. 

Family of L-1 Workers

Transferring employees may be accompanied by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. 

Blanket Petitions

The L-1 Blanket petition is a procedure through which a very large company may pre-qualify to transfer its L-1 employees. Once the L-1 Blanket is approved, the company may transfer people to the U.S. on L-1 visa quickly and on short notice without having to file a separate petition for each employee with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

A company may qualify for a L-1 Blanket if its meets one or more of the following:

1.     U.S. company with at least 1,000 employees

2.     U.S. Company which has obtained an L-1 visa for at least ten of its employees during the previous 12 months

3.     U.S. company and related U.S. companies have combined annual sales of at least $25 million. 

INFORMATION NEEDED:

The USCIS needs certain documents and evidence to include in an application for L-1 visas.  

• The petitioning U.S. entity must have a qualifying relationship with the entity abroad.

o   This means that the new U.S. office must be a parent, affiliate, subsidiary or branch of the foreign entity, and that both the U.S. office and the foreign entity must continue to share common ownership and control by showing the business license, articles of incorporation, annual reports, etc.  

• Must show evidence that the foreign employee worked at the overseas employment for one out of last three years.

o   Evidence include:

§  pay stubs,

§  payroll records,

§  tax returns,

§  evidence of work  

• Must show that the foreign employee as employed in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity.  

o   Evidence include

§  Organization chart showing position

§  Patents or other evidence of company’s technology, products, or services that are based on your work

§  Performance reviews

§  Loans/financing

§  Resume

• Sufficient physical space must be secured for a new office

o    If obtaining a new office space in the United States, a space must be secured through lease, purchase, or other means.

• After one year, demonstrating that new office is operating. 

o   Within one year after the L-1’s admission to the United States if requesting an extension of stay, a new office must be active and operating within one year. 

• If requesting an extension of stay in the L-1A classification

o   After 1 year the new office must support a managerial or executive position.

ADVANTAGES

• Processing Time

o   The Immigration Services usually decides the petition in 30-60 days.

• Duration

o   L-1 visas are granted initially for one to three years with extensions available in two year increments (with a total stay not to exceed seven years for L-1A visa and a total not to exceed 5 years for a L-1B visa).

• Permission to Work in the United States

o   The intracompany transferee is allowed to work for the United States subsidiary or affiliate company

• Includes Spouses and Children

o   The spouse and children (under 21) are allowed to accompany the L-1 Visa holder during the period of the transferee status.

• Conversion to Permanent Residence

o   In limited circumstances, it may be possible to convert the L-1 Visa for executives and managers to lawful permanent residence status under the EB-1 category

o   L-1Bbeneficiaries can obtain permanent residency through an employer-sponsored EB-2 or EB-3 petition.

• Duel-Intent

o   L status holders may file a petition for permanent residency status without jeopardizing their L status or their L-1 visa applications from a US Consular Office abroad.

DISADVANTAGES:

Ø  Temporary Transfer

o   L1 visas is temporary and subject to a maximum duration of seven years for L-1A and five years for L-1B. (seven-year limitation for L-1A and five-year limitation for L-1B).

Ø  Changing Employers

o   While on a L-1 visa, an employee cannot switch employers unless your new employer sponsors a separate L-1 petition..

Ø  Multinational companies

o   Only multinational companies qualify for L-1 visas.  This status is for individuals who have prior work history with the foreign company.