L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa

L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa

The L visa classification enables large, multinational companies to bring critical personnel from abroad to work temporarily in the U.S. Smaller companies also use the L visa classification as a method for transferring entrepreneurs.

Basic Requirements:

The U.S. employer must have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company. A qualifying relationship includes parent company, branch, subsidiary or affiliate.
The U.S. employer must be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the U.S. and in at least one other country directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the sponsored employee’s L-1 stay in the U.S. Doing business is defined as the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods and/or services. It is not simply having an agent or office in the U.S. or abroad.
The sponsored employee must have worked full-time for the qualifying organization abroad for one (1) continuous year within the three (3) years immediately preceding admission to the U.S. The employment may be cumulative but must be in an executive, managerial or specialized knowledge capacity. These capacities are defined as follows:
- L-1A Executive generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decision of wide latitude without much oversight.
- L-1A Managerial generally refers to the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and/or managers and/or the organization or a department, subdivision, function or component thereof.
- L-1B Specialized Knowledge generally refers to having special knowledge of the company product and its application in international markets or an advanced level of knowledge of processes and procedures of the company.
The sponsored employee must also be seeking to enter the U.S. to work in an executive, managerial or specialized knowledge capacity

Foreign companies intending to send an employee to the U.S. as an executive or manager to establish a new office must demonstrate sufficient physical premises to house the new office as well as evidence that the U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one (1) year of the approval of the petition.

Period of Stay:

One (1) year initially for those employees entering to establish a new office.
Seven (7) years total for executives and managers. Initial stay is issued for three (3) years. Beneficiary is eligible for two, two (2) year extensions.
Five (5) years total for specialized knowledge employees. Initial stay is up to three (3) years with one (1) two-year extension available.

Dependent Family Members:

Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 may accompany the transferring employee.
Following arrival in the U.S., spouses may apply for and obtain temporary work authorization to engage in open-market employment.

Procedure:

Requires submission of an L-1 Visa Petition with supporting evidence to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”). Following approval, the employee must apply for and obtain an L-1 visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before being admitted to the U.S.
Canadian citizens are considered visa-exempt and may submit the L-1 Visa Petition directly to U.S. Customs & Border Protection at a qualifying port-of-entry instead of to USCIS for same-day adjudication.

Processing Times:

USCIS processing times are subject to change but average 30-45 days unless premium processing service is used, in which case USCIS will review the petition within 15 calendar days.
Visa appointment availability is subject to change but appointments are generally available within 1-2 weeks, with visas being issued within 7-10 days following, assuming no government administrative processing delays.

Maintaining L-1 Visa Status:

The visa is employer-specific, meaning that an employee cannot change employers without government authorization.
The visa is job-specific, meaning that an employee cannot change positions without government authorization if a material change in job duties will occur.