The L-1 category applies to foreign nationals who work for a company with a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate in the U.S. These workers come to the U.S. as intracompany transferees who are coming temporarily to perform services either
in a managerial or executive capacity (L-1A) or
which entail specialized knowledge (L-1B)
for a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the same employer that employed the professional abroad.
The employee must have been employed abroad for the corporation, firm, or other legal entity (or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof) on a full-time basis for at least one continuous year out of the last three-year period to qualify.
The employer is not required to obtain a labor certification prior to petitioning in this category. Compensation level is not prescribed, but U.S. income must be sufficient to prevent the alien from becoming a public charge.
L-1 Petition Document Requirements
The petition should be filed by the U.S. employer with the following documentation:
Evidence of the qualifying relationship between the U.S. and the foreign employer which address ownership and control, such as an annual report, copies of articles of incorporation, financial statements, or stock certificates;
A letter from the alien's foreign qualifying employer detailing his or her dates of employment, job duties, qualifications and salary and demonstrating that the alien worked for the employer abroad for at least one continuous year within the three-year period before the filing of the petition in an executive or managerial capacity or in a position involving specialized knowledge; and
A detailed description of the proposed job duties and qualifications and evidence the proposed employment is in an executive or managerial capacity or in a position involving specialized knowledge.
Manager or Executive (L-1A) to Open or to be Employed in a New Office
If the foreign national is coming to the U.S. as a manager or executive (L-1A) to open or to be employed in a new office, the petition must be filed with evidence that:
Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
The beneficiary has, or upon establishment will have, the qualifying relationship to the foreign employer and the qualifying position; and
The intended U.S. operation will be able to support the executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition. This must be supported by information regarding:
the proposed nature of the U.S. office (size and scope, organizational structure, and financial goals),
financial information about the foreign entity (the size of the U.S. investment and the financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and to commence doing business in the U.S.), and
the organizational structure of the foreign entity.
Specialized Knowledge Employee (L-1B) to Open or to be Employed in a New Office
If the foreign national is coming to the U.S. in a specialized knowledge capacity (L-1B) to open or to be employed in a new office, also file the petition with evidence that:
Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
The business entity in the U.S is or will be a qualifying organization
The petitioner has the financial ability to compensate the alien beneficiary and to begin doing business in the U.S.
Difference Between Managers/Executives and Specialized Knowledge Employees
The L-1A visa is for managers and executives. An executive or manager is someone who directs the organization or a major component or essential function of the organization. They normally supervise and control the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees. Typical executive positions are presidents, vice-presidents and controllers. An executive or manager will generally not be overseeing the primary performance of a task unless coming to open a new office.
The L-1B visa is for key employees that have a specialized knowledge of the company’s products or procedures. They will typically have an advanced or proprietary knowledge of the company’s processes or procedures. Typical key employees are product specialists, accountants, or computer related personnel.
Blanket L Petition Employers who regularly file L petitions may wish to consider filing for a blanket L petition in order to obtain continuing approval for itself (and some or all of its parents, branches, subsidiaries and affiliates in the U.S.). This simplifies the process of approving and admitting additional individual L-1A and L-1B workers.
The blanket L petition must be filed by a U.S. employer who will be the single representative between USCIS and the qualifying organizations and must be filed with copies of evidence that the:
Employer and its branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates are engaged in commercial trade or services;
Employer has an office in the United States that has been doing business for one year or more;
Employer has 3 or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates;
Employer and its qualifying organizations have obtained approved petitions for at least ten L-1 professionals during the previous year or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least 25 million dollars, or have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.
After approval of a blanket petition, the petitioner may file for individual employees to enter as L-1 professionals under the blanket petition.
Extending a Blanket L Petition A petitioner may file to extend an expiring blanket petition. The extension petition must be filed with:
A copy of the previous approval notice for the blanket petition; and
A summary of the employment of L-1 foreign nationals admitted under the blanket petition during the preceding three years, listing, for each employee:
His or her name;
Position(s) held during the period;
Employing entity;
Date of initial L-1 admission under the blanket;
Date of final departure, if the alien has been transferred outside the U.S., and;
Documentation of any changes in approved relationships and additional qualifying relationships
Duration of Stay
Executives and managers (L-1A) are initially granted approval for up to 3 years but may stay in L-1 status for up to 7 years with 2-year extensions. Specialized knowledge employees (L-1B) are initially granted approval for up to 3 years but may stay in L-1 status for up to 5 years with a 2-year extension. A petitioner may apply for an extension of an individual L-1 petition. Supporting documentation is not required for extensions, except in those cases involving new offices or when requested. For details, please refer to 8 CFR 214.2(l)(14)(i)
Numerical Limits
There is currently no annual cap on L-1 visas.
Dependents
Dependents (spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age) are eligible for L-2 status with the same restrictions as the principal. Dependent spouses (not children) may be employed under the L-2 classification; however, they must first obtain employment authorization from the USCIS. Dependents may also be students in the U.S. while remaining in L-2 status.
Diversity Lottery
Employment-Based