The L1 visa applies to aliens who work for multinational companies doing business in both the United States and abroad. These workers come to the United States as intracompany transferees who are coming temporarily to perform services either in a managerial or executive capacity (L1A) or which entail specialized knowledge (L1B) 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 foreign 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. There is currently no annual cap on L1 visas.
Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age of L1 workers are entitled to L2 status with the same restrictions as the principal. Dependents may be students in the US while remaining in L2 status and may apply for work authorization with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly Immigration and Naturalization Service).
A US employer or foreign employer may file the L1 petition, but a foreign employer must have a legal business in the US. The petition must be filed with:
(1) Evidence of the qualifying relationship between the US and the foreign employer which address ownership and control, such as an annual report, copies of articles of incorporation, financial statements, or stock certificates;
(2) 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
(3) 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.
If the alien is coming to the US as a manager or executive (L1 A) to open or to be employed in a new office, also file the petition with evidence that:
(1) Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
(2) The beneficiary has, or upon establishment will have, the qualifying relationship to the foreign employer and the qualifying position; and
(3) The intended US 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:
(a) The proposed nature of the US office (size and scope, organizational structure, and financial goals);
(b) Financial information about the foreign entity (the size of the U.S. investment and the financial ability to compensate the beneficiary and to commence doing business in the US); and
(c) The organizational structure of the foreign entity.
If the alien is coming to the US in a specialized knowledge capacity (L1 B) to open or to be employed in a new office, also file the petition with evidence that:
(1) Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
(2) The business entity in the US is or will be a qualifying organization; and
(3) The petitioner has the financial ability to compensate the alien beneficiary and to begin doing business in the US.
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 US). This simplifies the process of approving and admitting additional individual L1A and L1B workers.
The blanket L petition must be filed by a US employer who will be the single representative between the USCIS and the qualifying organizations and must be filed with copies of evidence that the:
(1) Petitioner and its branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates are engaged in commercial trade or services;
(2) Petitioner has an office in the United States that has been doing business for one year or more;
(3) Petitioner has 3 or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and
(4) Petitioner and its qualifying organizations have obtained approved petitions for at least ten L1 professionals during the previous year or have US subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least 25 million dollars, or have a US work force of at least 1,000 employees.
To consult an immigration lawyer regarding the L1 Visa, please call us at (212) 947-7534 or e-mail us at: Michael@mmlawnyc.com . An attorney in our office would be happy to assist you.