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L1 - VISA

 Intercompany Transfree

Overview/Description

 

The L-1 visa permits a U.S. employer to transfer an employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests or a manager/executive from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee or manager/executive to the United States to set one up.

 

L1 A
L1 B

Overview/Description

 

The L-1 visa permits a U.S. employer to transfer an employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests or a manager/executive from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee or manager/executive to the United States to set one up.

Requirements/Eligibility

 

To qualify for L-1 classification, the employer must:

1. Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (e.g. Subsidiary, branch, etc.); and

2. Currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the U.S. and in at least one other country directly for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1.

Doing business is defined by the government and means the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.

To qualify, the employee must also meet the following two tests

  • Been working for the qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States; and
  • Be seeking to enter the US to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity or specialized knowledge capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.

Specialized Knowledge means either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures. This is a high standard.

Executive Capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.

Managerial Capacity generally refers to the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization. It may also refer to the employee’s ability to manage an essential function of the organization at a high level, without direct supervision of others. While it is not necessary to manage employees, the management of employees certainly helps.

 

New Offices

A special set of rules (a bit more relaxed) apply when the entity wants to open a new office.  For foreign employers seeking to send an employee to the United States as an executive or manager to establish a new office, the employer must also show that:

  • The employer has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office;
  • The employee has been employed as an executive or manager for one continuous year in the three years preceding the filing of the petition; and
  • The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.

Application Process

The employer must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker on behalf of the employee. Once approved, notice is provided to the consulate and the employee must apply for a visa and bring the approved I-797 to the consulate.  You should seek the assistance of a qualified immigration professional as this process is not as straight forward.

How long does the Visa last for?

Employees entering the 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, requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years, until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.

How are Family Members Treated?

The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age.  A Spouse is eligible for work authorization and family members can attend school.

An L-1 visa is a great option when a foreign company wants to transfer an employee working for abroad to a U.S. office. These are the four main requirements to obtain L-1 visa: 1. The U.S. employer must have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company 2. The company must be/ or will be doing business (in case the L-1 visa is for a new office) in the U.S. and at least one foreign country for the duration of employee’s stay in the U.S. 3. The employee being transferred must have been working for the foreign company for one continuous year out of the preceding three years 4. The employee will be working as a manager, executive, or specialized worker at the U.S. company

Certain large international companies that are engaged in commercial trade or services may file blanket L petition with USCIS. The main advantage of filing blanket L petition is that once this petition is approved, the U.S. Company may transfer eligible employees to U.S. quickly and without filing individual L petitions with USCIS. This means, that the U.S. Company does not have to file an individual petition for every employee it wants to transfer to the U.S., but once the blanket L petition is approved, the employees will apply for L-1 visa at the Consulate abroad.

 

In addition to the requirements listed above, a U.S. employer must meet the following requirements to be able to file blanket L petition:

  1. The U.S. employer must have an office and has been doing business in the U.S. for at least one year or longer
  2. The U.S. employer and each of the qualifying organizations listed in the blanket L petition are engaged in commercial trade or services
  3. The U.S. employer has 3 or more domestic or foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates
  4. The U.S. employer must meet one of the following requirements:
  • The U.S. employer has obtained at least ten L-1 approval for managers, executives, or specialized knowledge professionals within the previous 12 months, or
  • The U.S. employer has U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million, or
  • The U.S. employer has a U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 employees.

USCIS will only decide whether the employer meets the requirements for blanket L petition and whether the qualifying relationship exists.

Because the employees that are going to be transferred to U.S. were not listed in the blanket L petition, the Consular officer will examine at the time of the interview whether the employee meets the L employee requirements.

Only managers, executives and specialized knowledge professionals may apply for L visa under an approved blanket L petition. In addition, the employee must have been employed for a qualifying organization as a manager, executive, or specialized knowledge professional for at least 1 continuous year in the previous 3 years.

 

If your blanket L petition was approved by USCIS, you will receive an Approval Notice with the validity dates. The initial blanket L petition is usually valid for three years and the U.S. employer can then file for an indefinite extension. It is very important to request an indefinite validity for the extension as if the indefinite validity is not requested (or if the indefinite validity is denied), the U.S. employer will then have to file individual L petitions for employees and it may file a new blanket petition only after 3 years.

The approval of a blanket L petition does not guarantee that employee’s L-1 visa will be granted, and the Consular officer will adjudicate whether the employee meets the L-1 visa requirements. The employee will have to bring three copies of Form I-129S (the U.S. Employer will have to fill this in and send it to the employee), blanket L petition Approval, and documents showing that the he/she has been working for the foreign company for one continuous year out of the preceding three years and that he/she is coming to the U.S. to work as a manager, executive, or specialized knowledge professional. You should always check the website of the relevant Consulate to see what additional documents you should bring to the interview.

Comparison of L-1A Visa and L1-B Visa

The L-1A and L-1B visa are both visas that allow a foreign citizen to come to the U.S. to work at their employer’s U.S. offices or to open a new U.S. office.

 

L-1A Executive or Management

This category L-1 visa specifically allows a company to send an executive or manager to the U.S. to run or start a subsidiary company of the business.  

 

L-1B Specialized Knowledge Staff

This category of L-1 visa covers employees with specialized knowledge in a company’s products, services, research, systems, proprietary techniques, management, or procedures. The L-1B visa is initially granted for three years but can be extended for a total of five.

 

L-1 Blanket Visa

This L-1 visa is a special provision for companies that frequently use the L-1 visa program and are large multinational organizations.

Under this provision, a company only needs one approval from USCIS to transfer a set number of managers, executives, and professional employees.

 

 

Difference Between L-1A Visa and L-1B Visa

Who’s Eligible

The major difference between an L-1A visa and an L-1B visa is that different types of employees are eligible for them. The L-1A is for executives and managers. The L-1B is for employees with specialized knowledge.

 

Length of Stay

Another difference between the L-1A and the L-1B is the maximum length of stay between the visas. The L-1A allows the visa holder to stay in the U.S. for a maximum of seven years. The L-1B visa allows the visa holder to stay in the U.S. for a maximum of five years.

 

Eligibility for Permanent Residency in the U.S.

L-1A visa holders may file for permanent residency and a green card in the EB1 category. The EB1 category means that the L-1A visa holder can avoid completing the Permanent Labor Certification. This can speed up the green card process so that the L-1A visa holder has their green card within a year.

L-1B visa holders may apply for permanent residency or a green card in the U.S, but they must complete the Permanent Labor Certification. This means that the L-1B visa holder’s green card application is filed under the EB2 category. This type of permanent residence application may take years to process.

 

Conversion from L-1B to L-1A

An L-1B visa holder can apply and petition to change their L-1B to an L-1A visa. The application must be approved before four-and-a-half years of the L-1B visa’s five-year maximum stay has been completed.


L-1A Visa and L-1B Visa Similarities

The many similarities between the L-1A and L-1B visas include the following:

  • L-1 Visa Dependents

The spouse and children under 21 of an L-1 visa holder may accompany them to the U.S. L-2 visa holders may apply for authorization to work in the U.S.

  • Allow for Dual Intent

Dual intent means that an L-1 visa holder can have the intent to keep his L-1 visa status while applying for permanent residency. The green card application will not jeopardize the L-1 visa holder’s status as an L-1 visa worker.

  • Approval from Department of Labor

The Department of Labor doesn’t have to approve of L-1A or L-1B workers working in the U.S. because both types of L-1 visa holders are specialized workers.

 

  • Temporary Work Visas

Both the L-1A and the L-1B visa are temporary work visas. The L-1 visas aren’t the same as the H-1B visas.

Some temporary workers are hired under H-1B visas. There are many similarities, but also many differences between the L-1 and H-1B visa programs.

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