 L-1 Visa Overview:
The L-1 visa category is for an "intra-company transferee." An "intra-company transferee is an employee of a company abroad who is to be transferred to a U.S. affiliate, joint venture, parent or subsidiary entity on a temporary work basis. In order to be eligible, the following requirements must be met:
Alien must be employed continuously abroad for 1 of the previous 3 years by the parent, branch, joint venture, affiliate or subsidiary of the U.S. company preceding the date of application for admission;
Alien must continue to work capacity that is managerial, executive or involves specialized knowledge;
Maximum duration under L-1 A (managers and executives) is 7 years and under L-1B (specialized knowledge) is 5 years; initial approval is for 3 years (however, see new office requirement), and
Alien's spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may enter as derivative visa applicants, with the same period of admission as the principal visa applicant applicable.
Managerial Capacity is defined as:
a) Personally manages the organization, department, subdivision or function or component;
b) Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees or manages an essential function within the organization, department or subdivision;
c) Has the authority to hire and fire or recommend personnel actions or, if there is no direct personnel supervision, he or she functions at a senior level;
d) Exercises discretion over day-to-day operations of the activity or function, and
e) Note that first line supervisors are not considered managers unless the employees they supervise are professional.
Executive Capacity is defined as:
a) Directs the management of an organization or a major component or function;
b) Establishes organizational goals and policies;
c) Exercises a wide latitude of discretionary decision-making, and
d) Receives only general supervision or direction from higher-level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders.
Specialized knowledge is defined as:
a) Having 'special' knowledge of the company product and its application in international markets, and
b) Having an 'advanced' level of knowledge of the processes and procedures of the company. Note that a person with only one year of experience with the foreign parent company would likely not qualify under this provision.
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Related Information:
Employment does not necessarily depend upon the amount or existence of a salary;
Payment by foreign or U.S. company is immaterial
There is no prevailing wage requirement;
A person who is "outsourced" and is employed in an agency relationship with the U.S. affiliate, but works and is directly affiliated may not be considered an employee of the U.S. affiliate because he or she is employed by the agency;
The foreign Parent company and U.S. subsidiary company do not have to be in the same line of business;
There are no country limitations as with the "E" visa category;
The 5 years of specialized knowledge limitation may be overcome where the employee becomes a manager or executive at least 6 months prior to the expiration of the 5 years authorized by CIS as long as CIS has approved the change;
Premium Processing service may be used to process L visa applications and permits expedited processing of these cases;
An Alien's time in "H" status will count towards the "5/7" year time limitations for L visa holders;
The L-1 visa category has no cap like the "H" visa category and is a good alternative to the "H" visa category in the event the H-1B cap is reached and the alien meets the L visa requirements;
Unlike the H-1B category, which is for specialty occupations, the L-1 visa category is for an intra-company transferee, and
The L-1A visa classification within the L visa category permits those acting in an executive/managerial capacity to be eligible, under the employment-based first preference, to obtain Lawful Permanent Residency on an expedited basis. This is because there is no labor certification required for this category of eligibility.
Special Requirements for a U.S. Enterprise Less than One Year Old:
If the U.S. company is less than 1 year old, it must show proof of physical premises (lease agreement);
The L-1 visa for new companies are initially granted for a period of 1 year;
The intended U.S. corporation, within one year, "will support an executive or managerial position", and
In order to determine the extension after the first year of approval, CIS looks to the number of employees; significant growth in cash flow; the presence of significant customers and clientele as well as related elements.
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Blanket L-1 Visas:
The "blanket" L-1 visa is so called because it enables a petitioning multinational corporation to transfer managers, executives, and specialized-knowledge professionals to the U.S. on work assignments under a single, "blanket" petition. Thus, it eliminates the need to separately petition for each individual whom the company desires to bring to the U.S.
Under the L-1 blanket program, an employee need only work for the parent company abroad for 6 months instead of one year;
The L-1 blanket visa petitioner has an office and has been doing business in the U.S. for at least one year;
The L-1 blanket visa petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries of affiliates, and
The L-1 blanket visa petitioner's combined U.S. annual sales of $25 million, the U.S. workforce of 1,000 or received approval of at least 10 L petitions in last 12 months.
How We Can Help You:
Our office has successfully filed many L Visa petitions. Filing L Visa requires skills and experience. This is because a practitioners need to determine whether the employee meets all the eligibility criteria under L-1 program, whether there is a "qualifying relationship" between the U.S. and the foreign company, etc. We can advise both the employer and the prospective employee regarding the L-1A/L-1B documentation requirements and legal issues. We ensure that required documents are complete and submit it to CIS and follow up with appropriate U.S. consulate, as applicable.
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