L visa/ Nonimmigrant visa
The L-1A and L-1B visas are 2 types of work visas that are available for temporary intracompany transferees who work in managerial positions(L-1A) or have specialized knowledge (L-1B).
1. L-1A Classification
Using the L-1A visa process, a company can transfer a qualified executive or manager to the United States to an existing or a newly created subsidiary. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one.
To qualify for L-1 classification in this category, the employer must:
1)have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to as qualifying organizations); and
2)currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and in at least one other country directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1. While the business must be viable, there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade.
Doing business means the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.
To qualify for the L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager, the named employee must:
1)have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States and
2)Be seeking to enter the United States to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
Note:
Executive capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.
Managerial capacity generally refers to the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization.
New Offices
For foreign employers seeking to send an employee to the United States as an executive or manager to establish a new office, the employer must also show that:
1)The employer has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office;
2)The employee has been employed as an executive or manager for one continuous year in the three years preceding the filing of the petition; and
3)The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.
Period of Stay
Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year. All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three 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.
Note:
After the maximum stay of seven years, the L-1A transferee cannot apply for a further extension. He or she has to spend at least one year outside the US before being eligible for the H or L status again. Short business trips or visits are, of course, still possible.
Family of L-1 Workers
The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee.
Spouses
Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with fee.
How to Apply
In order to apply for a L-1A or L-1B visa, the employer must complete and file the Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker with filing fees, all supporting documentation.
Green card processing
L-1A can apply for permanent resident(Green card ) under EB-1 Category where the priority dates are current without going through the Labor Certification Process.
2. L-1B classification
The L-1B nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer a professional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one.
1. To qualify for the L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge classification, the named employee must:
1)have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States and
2)Be seeking to enter the United States to provide services in a specialized knowledge capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
3) the petitioning employer must show that a)the employee will not be principally controlled or supervised by such an unaffiliated employer; and that b)the work being provided by the employee is not considered to be labor for hire by such an unaffiliated employer.
Note:
Specialized knowledge means either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures.
Period of Stay
Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year. All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years. For all L-1B 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 five years.
Note:
After the maximum stay of five years, the L-1B transferee cannot apply for a further extension. He or she has to spend at least one year outside the US before being eligible for the H or L status again. Short business trips or visits are, of course, still possible.
Family of L-1 Workers
The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee.
Spouses
Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with fee.