L-1 Intra-Company Transfer Work Visa

If you are a business person and plan to extend your existing foreign business so as to allow entry into a United States business venture in which you perform the same key tasks, L-1 visa may be the ideal way to bring you and your family to the United States. If you structure the two businesses correctly, you can work in the United States and hopefully make a good living as well. This visa is called the L-1 Intra-Company Transferee temporary work visa.

If you work for a company willing to cooperate with you toward this goal, it should be successful. According to the law, foreign based companies may transfer managers, executives (L-1A visa), and employees with "specialized knowledge" (L-1B visa) to their new or existing, U.S. branch office, affiliate, subsidiary or joint venture, for temporary periods of up to seven (7) years for an L-1A, and up to five (5) years for an L-1B. L-1A visa holders whose 7-year limit has been reached may re-enter the United States for another full term as an L-1 holder after a one-year period of absence from the U.S.

Managers/Executives (L-1A). The legal definition of management and executive roles for these purposes is quite strict, and requires a detailed description of the duties attached to the position. In particular, the executive or manager should have supervisory responsibility over professional staff and/or for a key function, department or subdivision of the employer. Such personnel are issued a three-year L-1A visa initially but it can be extended up to seven years in two-year increments.

Specialized Knowledge Staff (L-1B). This category includes employees with expertise in the company's products/services, research, systems, proprietary techniques, management, or procedures. They are issued an L-1B visa initially for three years but it is extendible to maximum of five years.

During the period of transfer, the foreign based company must continue to conduct overseas business. The regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization qualifies as “doing business” while the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad will not qualify. Also, each transferee from the foreign business must be documented to have worked for the parent company as a manager, executive or employee with "specialized knowledge", for at least one full year within the preceding 3 year period.

It isn’t necessary for the business to be a big corporation. It can be a partnership; even a sole proprietorship. It can also be a religious, cultural or charitable non-profit organization, a labor organization, trust, unincorporated association, and the commercial instruments of foreign governments.

To apply for the L-1 visa, the employer must file a petition with USCIS and each petition is evaluated on its own merits. Individuals cannot apply for an L-1 visa. The employer must file a petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on the employee’s behalf for L-1 sponsorship. An L-1 visa application for foreign nationals must be approved by USCIS. After approval USCIS sends the approval notice to a U.S. consulate where the applicant obtains the L-1 visa.

If a foreign company does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office, it can send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one. The employer must file a Form I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, on behalf of this employee. It must be shown that sufficient physical office premises have been secured and the intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition. The foreign parent company and the U.S. branch office do not need to be involved in the same business line. An active business must be established to qualify for an L-1 Intra-Company Transfer although this business’s activities could be markedly different than the parent corporation.

To apply for an L-1 visa, the petitioner must submit proof of ownership and control, a lease or deed for the new company premises, and financial resources to sustain the operation. Particularly, the petition must include information on:

• the activities of the office, including its scope, organizational structure and financial goals;

• how much the U.S investment will be and the foreign entity's financial ability to pay the beneficiary and to begin doing business in the U.S.;

• the foreign entity's organizational structure.

Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year. Where the U.S. office has been operating for over one year, transferred employees may enter for an initial maximum period of stay of three (3) 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.

A petition for extension must include a statement of the beneficiary's duties both for the prior year and the period of extension, a statement of the operation's staffing pattern, number and types of positions filled, wages paid, and evidence of the U.S. operation's financial status.

The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by a spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Such family members would utilize the L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee. If these family members are already in the United States and are seeking a change of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, they may apply collectively, with fee, on Form I-539. Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing Form I-765 with fee. If approved, there is no specific restriction as to where the L-2 spouse may work.

"Dual Intent" allowed: unlike some classes of non-immigrant visas, L-1 applicants may not be denied a visa on the basis that they are an intending immigrant to the United States, or that they do not have a residence abroad which they do not intend to abandon. The L-1 visa is a dual intent visa, so even though the L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, the L-1 visa holder may apply for permanent residency without jeopardizing the L-1 visa status.

L-1A visa holders, who are managers and executives, have a "priority worker" status, i.e., a first employment-based (EB) preference, in the permanent residence selection system.

L-1 visa application process. An application for an L-1 visa begins with the filing of a petition with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) on Form I-129, along with supporting documentation showing that both the US company and the foreign parent company meet the qualifying factors set forth in the laws and regulations.

Notice of approval of the Form I-129 is given by the USCIS on a Notice of Action, Form I-797, and using this as the basis of the application, the alien may apply for visa issuance at a consulate or embassy of the United States in the country having jurisdiction over their residence.

Applicants who are in the United States at the time of the filing of the I-129 can request a change of status from their present immigration status (i.e. visitor, student, etc.), so long as they are in status at the time of the filing of the I-129. Falling out of status after filing but before a decision by USCIS subtend no deleterious effects. An I-797 Notice of Action showing the approval of the visa petition does not guarantee that a visa will be issued at the U.S. consulate or embassy, but L-1 visas are normally approved if the consular officer concludes that the individual is qualified and that both the US company and the foreign parent are legitimate.

Basis for visa denial. A consular officer may deny the issuance of an L-1 visa in cases where the officer determines the U.S. company that filed the L-1 petition may not be qualified, or that the parent company outside the United States is not qualified or does not intend to continue in business after the L1 visa issuance, or that USCIS approved the petition based on a fraud committed by the company or the visa applicant, or that the applicant is ineligible for that class of visa under section 212(a) of the Immigration and Naturalization Act. In addition, the consular officer may request that the underlying petition be reconsidered by USCIS.

Renewing L-1 visa. The L-1 status may be renewed and extended within the United States. Except in the case of blanket petitions, a new I-129 petition must be filed. Renewal in the United States applies to status only, not the actual visa in the passport. For visa renewal, the applicant must go to a US consulate or embassy outside the United States. An alien cannot leave the United States and then reenter without a valid L-1 visa, and must appear personally before a consular officer for visa issuance. This often leads to difficulties for applicants, because it means leaving their adopted home in the United States for as long as it takes the embassy to issue their new visa. In particularly busy times of year, or at some consulates or embassies, this can take several weeks or more.

Special rules govern the transfer of an L-1 employee coming to the United States to start a new office. Generally, a new office petition must:

• provide evidence that premises have been secured for the new office;

• provide evidence that the new office’s nature, size, scope, operations, and organizational structure require a manager or executive;

• provide evidence that the size of the investment in the new office is sufficient for the company to start and continue doing business in the United States.

New office petitions are approved for an initial period of only one year. Extensions require the filing of a new I-129 petition along with the "L" Supplement.

To obtain an extension for a new office petition, a company must:

• provide evidence that the U.S. office and the overseas office have the required relationship for an L-1 petition;

• provide evidence that the U.S. office has been doing business for the past year; • provide evidence of the financial status of the U.S. office;

• provide a statement describing the L-1 employee’s duties over the past year and what the L-1 employee’s duties will be during the period of extension;

• provide a statement describing the staffing pattern of the U.S. office and the number and the type of positions filled, with proof of the wages paid for those positions.

Advantages of the L-1 visa:

• transferring to the United States and working legally for a U.S. company that is a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of a company that is currently the employer outside the United States;

• any legal form of doing business is acceptable, including but not restricted to, corporations, limited companies, partnerships, joint ventures and sole proprietorships;

• the employee is not required to perform full-time services but must dedicate a significant portion of time on a regular and systematic basis;

• there is no prevailing wage requirement or Labor Condition;

• there are no quota restrictions on the L-1 visa;

• there is also no requirement that the branch office in the United States should employ a particular number of people who are U.S. citizens and/or Green card holders;

• the visa can be issued quickly;

• travel in and out of the United States or remain there continuously until the L-1 status expires;

• visas are available for spouses and all unmarried dependent children under 21;

• an executive or manager in the United States Company holding an L-1 visa can apply for a permanent residence through employment and skip a major step of the process;

• upon entering the United States an I-94 will be issued for the length of the L-1 approval;

• spouses can apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) to work in the United States for a maximum period of two years.

Disadvantages of the L-1 visa:

• restricted to working only for the United States employer who acted as the L-1 visa sponsor and the U.S. company must be a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of the company that is currently the employer outside the United States;

• the overseas parent company must have control in the form of direct ownership;

• the foreign entity must continue in business throughout the alien's stay in the United States;

• transferee must hold executive or managerial position, or have specialized knowledge;

• visas can initially be approved for one year (new United States companies) or three years if the United States company has been working for more than one year. Extensions of two years at a time may be allowed for a total of seven years to stay in the United States, and five years for specialized knowledge;

• children reaching the age of 21 and wishing to continue living in the United States must apply for their own visa;

• unmarried dependent children under 21 cannot apply for Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

A major advantage of the L-1 is that under certain circumstances an L-1 holder may be able to later obtain a Green card without going through the exhaustive labor certification process.

The L-1 visa can be obtained relatively quickly, often in less than a few months. However, to guarantee approval or determination of the petition within one month the applicant can pay an additional filing fee for premium or expedited processing.

It is widely known that the United States is a country of immigrants and, therefore, is a blend of different cultures gathered from all over the globe. The L-1 visa affords an excellent opportunity for a foreign company to expand its business activities to the United States while also providing ancillary benefits for the key employees as well.

We are here to provide much-needed guidance and assistance to people who desire to live and work in the United States and encourage them to achieve these most challenging goals.

We complete beginning–to-end the necessary paperwork and promote a favorable environment for the expansion of international business practices and entrepreneurialism. This page features a vital guiding light at each stage to go through the uneasy process to be certified.

We strive to perform with excellence and to go together into the future!