An L-1A Visa for Intracompany Transferee Managers and Executives allows a U.S. employer to transfer you from one of its foreign offices to an existing office in the U.S. You can also be transferred to the U.S. to set up a new office. To be eligible for an L-1A visa, the U.S. employer must:  

• Have a qualifying parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship with your foreign employer;
• Currently be doing or have plans to do business in the U.S. and at least one other country for the duration of your stay in the U.S.; and
• If a new office is being setup, show it has secured sufficient physical premises to operate the business and that the U.S. office will be able to support an executive or managerial position within one year of approval of your L-1A visa.

  In addition, you must establish:
 

• You have been working for the employer abroad for at least one continuous year during the past three years;
• If you are coming to the U.S. to set up a new office, your employment must have been in an executive or managerial capacity; and
• You will hold an executive or managerial position in the U.S. company in which you will either have broad discretion to make decisions with little oversight; supervise and control the work of professional employees; manage the company or a department, subdivision, function, or component within the company; or manage an essential function of the company without direct supervision.

 

An L-1B Visa for Intracompany Transferee with Specialized Knowledge allows a U.S. employer to transfer you from one of its foreign offices to an existing office in the U.S. You can also be transferred to the U.S. to set up a new office. To be eligible for an L-1B visa, the U.S. employer must:

• Have a qualifying parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship with your foreign employer;
• Be or will be doing business in the U.S. and at least one other country for the duration of your stay in the U.S. as an L-1B visa holder; and
• If you are coming to the U.S. to work in a new office, the U.S. employer must show it has secured sufficient physical premises to operate the business and that it is able to compensate you and begin “doing business” in the U.S.

  In addition, you must establish:  

• You have been working for the employer abroad for at least 1 continuous year within the past 3 years; and
• You have a position within the employer or one of its qualifying parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate that requires advanced, specialized knowledge, or expertise of the organization’s processes or procedures.

 

A Blanket L Petition may be the best choice for an employer that has multiple L-1 Visa eligible employees. To be eligible for a blanket L certification, the following must be established:

• The company has had an office in the U.S. which has been “doing business” for at least 1 year;
• The U.S. company has at least 3 domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates; and
• The U.S. company along with the other qualifying organizations meet 1 of the following criteria:
  • They have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals in the past 12 months;
  • They have combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or
  • They have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.

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