Temporary Visas
- Temporary Visas
- H-1B Visas
- The Annual Cap
- H-1B Cap Exemption
- H-1B Cap Timing Issues
- Find Legal Help From An Experienced H-1B Lawyer
- What You Can & Cannot Do as a Visitor
- J-1 - Exchange Visitor Visas
- O-1 Visas for Extraordinary Ability
- Tips for Collecting Evidence of Extraordinary Ability
- Building Your Case For Extraordinary Ability
- Difference Between an I-94 & a Visa
- What are the Effects of Unlawful Presence?
- A - Diplomat Visas
- B - Visitor Visas
- C - Transit Visas
- D - Crewmen Visas
- E - Treaty Visas
- F - Student Visas
- G - Visas for International Organizations
- H - Temporary Professional Workers
- I - Visas for Foreign Media
- J - Visas for Exchange Visitors
- K - Fiancée Visas
- L - Intracompany Transfer Visas
- M - Vocational Student Visas
- N - Dependents of Special Immigrants
- NATO Visas
- O - Extraordinary Ability Visas
- P - Athletes & Entertainers
- Q - Reciprocal Cultural Exchange Visitors
- R - Religious Worker Visas
- S - "Snitch" Visas
- TN - Treaty National Visas
- T - Trafficking Victims
- U - Victims of Certain Crimes
- V
Intracompany Transferees
L-1A & L-1B Visas
The L-1 visa for intracompany transferees is available to those who have worked for a multinational company abroad for at least one year, full time, within the three years prior to admission to the United States, in a qualifying position, who are coming to work for a U.S. branch office or a U.S. company that is a parent, subsidiary, or affiliate entity under the same ownership and control as the company where they worked abroad. Both the qualifying experience abroad and the offered job in the United States must be in a position that is executive, managerial, or entails specialized knowledge.
The L-1A visa is for managers and executives. They must have at least a year or more of qualifying experience with the multinational organization abroad in a managerial or executive capacity, and must be coming to the U.S. to work in a managerial or executive capacity.
A Manager manages the organization, or a department, subdivision or function of the organization; supervises and controls the work of other managerial, supervisory or professional employees; has hire & fire authority, as well as authority to set salary and approve leave and promotion, or, if no employees are directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy; exercises discretion over day-to-day operations. A first-line supervisor of non-professional employees is not considered a manager. A function manager must at least indirectly supervise others: it is axiomatic that a manager cannot personally perform the function he or she is supposed to manage.
An Executive directs the management of the entire organization, or one of it major components or functions; establishes organizational goals, policies and practices; exercises a wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and receives only general supervision from higher-level executives, or from the organization’s board of directors and/or shareholders.
The L-1B visa is for workers with specialized knowledge of the multinational company’s processes, policies, or technologies that is not readily available in the U.S. labor market, nor widely held within the multinational organization.
L-1A and L-1B visas may be granted for an initial period of up to three years, and extensions are granted in two year increments. The maximum period of stay allowed is 7 years for an L-1A manager or executive, or 5 years for an L-1B worker in a specialized knowledge position. L-2 visa status is available for dependent spouses and minor children, and L-2 spouses have unrestricted employment authorization incident to status.
For large multinational companies engaged in the frequent transfer of executive, managerial and specialized personnel to the United States, there is also the Blanket L-1 petition process, which avoids the individual petition-based process and allows foreign workers to apply for a visa directly at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, once the U.S. company has obtained approval from USCIS of a “blanket petition” listing all of the related entities abroad and in the United States.
An L-1 Blanket petition may be filed by the U.S. parent, subsidiary, affiliate or branch of a multinational company that has three or more domestic and foreign entities, is engaged in commercial trade or services (not available to nonprofits) and the U.S. petitioning entity has been doing business for one year or more, AND-
-has obtained approval of at least 10 individual L-1 petitions within the preceding 12 months and the multinational group has actually transferred those workers to the U.S.
-the U.S. entity/entities have combined annual sales of $25 million or more, OR
-the U.S. workforce is at least 1,000 employees.
If you would like more information about obtaining an L-1 intracompany transferee visa, contact Karin Wolman today.