L Visas for Intracompany Transferees

Overview of the L Visa

The L-1 visa is a temporary work visa which allows companies doing business in both the U.S. and abroad to transfer certain employees from its foreign operations to its U.S. operations for a period of up to 7 years. The employee must have been employed by a parent, subsidiary, affiliate or branch office of the U.S. company outside of the U.S. for at least one year out of the last three years. There are two types of L-1 visas. The L-1A visa allows employers to transfer their foreign managers and executives to their offices in the U.S. The L-1B visa allows employers to transfer their employees with specialized knowledge to their offices in the U.S.

Qualifying for the L-1A Executive/Manager Visa

Both the Employer and Employee must meet specific requirements to qualify for the L-1A visa.

To qualify for the L-1A visa, the employer must:

• Have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company, such as being the parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate; and
• Be currently doing business in the U.S. as well as a foreign country for the duration of the employee’s stay in the U.S

To qualify for the L-1A visa, the employee must:

• Have worked for the foreign organization for at least one continuous year within the past three years of seeking admission into the U.S.; and
• Be seeking to enter the U.S. to provide services in an executive or managerial capacity

Qualifying for the L-1B Specialized Knowledge Visa

Both the Employer and Employee must meet specific requirements to qualify for the L-1B visa.

To qualify for the L-1B visa, the employer must:

• Have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company, such as being the parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate; and
• Be currently doing business in the U.S. as well as a foreign country for the duration of the employee’s stay in the U.S

To qualify for the L-1B visa, the employee must:

• Have worked for the foreign organization for at least one continuous year within the past three years of seeking admission into the U.S.; and
• Be seeking to enter the U.S. to provide services in a specialized knowledge capacity. 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.

Additional Requirements for New Offices

For foreign companies who want to transfer an employee to the U.S. specifically for the purpose of establishing a new office, the following requirements must also be met:

• The employer has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office;
• 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
• The new U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the petition being approved

To learn more about your options contact our San Francisco law firm to speak with one of our immigration attorneys.