L-1 Intra-Company Transferee Visa
The L-1A visa is for people employed full-time at a managerial or executive level for at least one continuous year in the previous three years at a non-U.S. firm, corporation, or other legal entity, who will come to the United States to work, in a managerial or executive position, at its related entity in the United States, or will oversee the opening of a new entity in the United States which is affiliated with the non-U.S. entity.
A manager/executive is defined as a person who manages an organization, department, division or function. Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or manages an essential function of the company.
The L-1B visa is for people employed full-time for at least one continuous year in the previous three years at a non-U.S. firm, corporation, or other legal entity, who will come to the United States to work at its related entity in the United States as an employee who has specialized knowledge.
Specialized knowledge is defined as someone who has a special knowledge of the company product and its application in international markets or has an advanced level of knowledge of processes and procedures of the company.
There is no requirement that the position abroad and the position in the United States be identical.
The L-1 visa applies to people who work for a foreign company with a, subsidiary, branch, affiliate or parent in the U.S. These workers come to the U.S. as intracompany transferees who are coming temporarily to perform services either: in a managerial or executive capacity, or with specialized knowledge, for a subsidiary, branch, affiliate or parent of the same employer that employed the professional abroad.
The L-1 visa is issued for one year initially if the U.S. subsidiary, branch, affiliate or parent is less than one year old, and may be extended in 2 year increments up to a maximum of 7 years providing transferee and business qualify. If the related entity in the United States has been trading for more than one year at the time of filing for an L-1 visa, then it is issued for 3 years initially, and may be extended in 2 year increments up to a maximum of 7 years. The L-1B (specialized knowledge) visa may only be extended up to a maximum of 5 years.
Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of L-1 visa holders are entitled to L-2 visa status. The spouse of an L-1 visa holder may obtain employment authorization for the period of admission and/or status of the L-1 visa holder, but not to exceed two years. Dependent children may be students in the U.S. while remaining in L-2 status; however, dependents may not be employed under the L-2 classification.
It should be noted that U.S. entity is not required to obtain labor certification prior to petitioning in this category, and that there is currently no annual cap on the amount of L-1 visas issued annually. Also, the L-1 visa holder may be eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Summary of the L-1 Visa
The foreign company must:
- be currently and continue to be engaged in the regular systematic & continuous provisions of goods and/or services
- have been in business for at least 12 months
- be employing the transferee in an executive/managerial position, supervising subordinate managers, or be employing the transferee in a specialized function
- be able to provide current and prior financial statements
- be able to provide evidence of recent business transacted
- be able to provide evidence of current staff employed, which should be at least 4 full-time employees, excluding the proposed transferee
The U.S. Corporation must:
- be a legal entity registered to conduct business in the U.S.
- have an identical structure, or be owned or controlled in the majority by a foreign corporation
- be intending to employ U.S. workers in managerial and subordinate positions
- be registered with Internal Revenue Service for tax purposes
- have a commercial lease securing physical premises to house the U.S. entity
- have opened a U.S. corporate bank account and have sufficient funds to initiate start-up (new subsidiaries, branches or affiliates only)
- at the time of renewal, provide evidence of staff employed, which is recommended to be at least 3-5 full-time U.S. employees excluding the transferee
Limitations:
- 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 L-1 visa holder’s stay in the United States
- Transferee must hold executive or managerial position, or have specialized knowledge
If the L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa category is something you feel you may qualify for, we would be pleased to hear from you. Please call our United Kingdom office on 01252-761419 to have one of our professionals discuss your circumstances in more detail. We also offer FREE absolutely no obligation Immigration to USA Forums throughout the year in England. If you prefer, we can arrange a One to One consultation.
One to One Consultations
If you are closer to wanting to Emigrate to the United States, you can book a One to One consultation in the United Kingdom.
Why not take advantage of speaking further about your specific circumstances with one of our senior visa specialists in a private personal meeting, arranged at a time convenient to you. We do not charge a fee for these One to One consultations and they are offered by prior appointment at both our United Kingdom HQ office in London and our regional administration office in Hampshire.
Please contact Jacky Joinson to arrange a personal One to One Consultation.
Call 01252 761419 or e-mail JJoinson@usafl.com