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The L-1 Visa is the most direct visa for an intracompany transfer to the United States

The L-1 visa is meant for transferring high-level executives and managers, as well as specialized employees to a new or existing office in the United States. In order to qualify for the L-1 visa there must be a qualified corporate relationship between the foreign entity and the US-entity. The most common examples of this involve a parent-subsidiary, affiliate or branch relationship between the two entities.

Through the L-1A intracompany transfer visa, the main applicant must demonstrate that they have been functioning in an executive or managerial capacity, and that they will continue to be employed in one of these capacities through the US entity.

The L-1B intracompany transfer visa permits a “specialized employee” of the foreign entity to be sponsored by the US entity – a successful applicant must prove that they possess a unique knowledge that is specialized and integral for the US entity to function.

 In order for a L-1 visa applicant to qualify, you must have worked in a full-time capacity for at least one-full year in the last three-years for the foreign company. It is necessary to demonstrate that you’ve held this managerial/executive/specialized position – and any travel time to the United States will be discounted from the one-year requirement.

New or Existing US businesses may qualify

The L-1 visa application requires a corporate relationship between the non-US and US entity. An applicant may be sponsored by either a new US entity (i.e. new office petition) or an existing US company. The foreign entity may even acquire an existing US operation and qualify, as long as the acquisition is structured properly to meet the L-1 requirements.

 It is important to note that if you are considering launching a new business (i.e. new office petition) in the United States the US entity must be structured and ready to operate (if not already operational) before applying for the L-1 visa. This includes several early-stage efforts to have the US entity framework in place and includes matters such as: Securing a commercial lease, building a strong 5-year business plan, hiring a minimum of 1-2 full-time employees, and establishing the US bank account.

At globalvisas.me we work with leading US immigration lawyers that support L-1 visa clients every step of the way. We also offer a multitude of “add-on” services that are valuable for clients seeking to expand existing operations into the United States.

No investment requirements for US company

Unlike the E-2 Treaty Investor visa, the L-1 visa category does not focus investments made into the US company. More generally, it is necessary to demonstrate that the US company has overall financial health – that it maintains the financial capacity to operate and continue to function as is demonstrated in the business plan. This can be achieved by presenting a variety of supporting documentation, such as: bank statements for both the non-US entity and US company, high-level agreements between the two entities, access to credit-lines and much more. In essence, it’s necessary to prove that operational expenses such as the commercial lease and employee salaries can be supported by the US company.

In presenting the 5-year business plan for the L-1 application it is also not required to demonstrate that the US business is profitable. Oftentimes, a “break-even” point can be projected 2-3 years into the future – however, it is still important to convince USCIS and the Consular officer that the business is well-funded and can meet its capital operational requirements. 

  Permits Multiple Applicants through the L-1A and L-1B options

The L-1 visa is a very suitable immigration pathway for multinational companies that may have multiple employees to transfer. It is also good for smaller multinational companies that may only have two or three key employees to transfer to the United States office. As described above, there are actually two categories of the L-visa, which are applicable for executives or managers and specialized employees of the foreign entity. If you are considering to transfer multiple foreign workers into the United States it is important to seek proper legal counsel, as you will need to be able to justify the necessity of transferring new employees to work for the United States company.

Expedited processing available through USCIS

Generally, there are two steps to the L-visa process and government processing. The first application (form I-129) will be submitted to the appropriate United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) center. For this process, it is possible to pay an expedited government processing fee (I-907) for the adjudication of the petition – through this premium processing option, USCIS will render a decision within 15 calendar days. The second step in the process applies to applicants who will be obtaining a visa at the relevant US Consulate abroad. Once USCIS approves the I-129 application, this notice will be sent directly to the US Consulate and an interview will be scheduled for the applicant.

Our expert immigration attorneys work with our clients to ensure a smooth visa processing experience – this includes help with the application all the way through to preparing an applicant for the Consular interview.

Multiple Entry-Visa for up to 7-years

Similar to the E-2 visa, the L-1 visa category is subject to the Department of State reciprocity schedule. Depending on the applicants nationality, you may be subject to different restrictions – but generally, the L-1 visa permits multiple-entry for the United States (i.e. no limit on the amount of times you travel in/out of the United States).

 For new office petitions – i.e. for those that will be establishing a new entity in the United States – a L-1 visa will be granted for only one (1) year. The policy is to ensure that when the time for a L-1 extension/renewal arrives, the L-1 enterprise has been staying true to the original intentions. In other words, the US company should be operating in the same nature of business, maintain a minimum amount of US employees and still be able to demonstrate healthy financial strength.

 For existing office petitions – i.e. the US company is already operational – the L-1 visa may be granted for an initial term of 2-3 years (depending on an applicant’s nationality).

 If an applicant wishes to remain in the United States, they must apply for an extension/renewal of the L-1 visa before the expiration date. It is common to receive extensions for the L-1 visa in 2-3 year intervals. In total, one may maintain a L-1 visa for a total of seven (7) years – afterwards a new visa solution will be necessary.

Potential to apply for a Green Card through the EB-1C Immigrant visa & EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa

The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits an applicant to live and work in the United States for a US-employer – it does not lead to a Green Card. In order to become eligible for Permanent Residency (i.e. Green Card) in the United States it will be necessary to qualify for an “immigrant-based” visa category.

One of the most common pathways to an immigrant-based visa from the L-1 is through the EB-1C visa. In many ways, the EB-1C visa is the immigrant version of the L-1. Obviously, if you are obtaining a Green Card, the threshold for the application will be higher – but having at least one approval of the L-1 visa for a potential candidate carries a lot of weight with USCIS and the Department of State.

Our expert US immigration attorneys build tailored solutions for those that are interested in obtaining a Green Card through the L-1 and EB-1C visas. Learn more about this here.

L-1 VISA — FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do I need to hire employees in the United States to qualify for the L-1 Visa?

Generally, yes. It also depends on the level of risk your US immigration attorney is willing to take. In our experience, we will rarely accept a L-1 case unless the applicant demonstrates that US-based employees will be hired on a full-time basis before applying for the visa. The reasoning is that the L-1 applicant should be coming to the United States in a clear executive/managerial capacity – and US immigration regulations are very strict in defining this function. If there are no employees in the sponsoring US entity, the presumption will be that you are also performing non-executive/non-managerial tasks for the US business and the case will likely be denied.

 For the initial L-1 application there really should be a minimum of 1-2 full-time employees. This requires the US business to have formal documentation to prove the employer-employee relationship, such as: Employment contract, W-2, Form I-9 and proof that the individual has authorization to work in the United States. NOTE: the prospective US employee does not have to be a US citizen, rather someone who has work-authorization.

What happens if I change my business once in the United States on a L-1 Visa?

Any substantial change to the US business requires a notification to USCIS. A substantial change can be thought of as anything that significantly alter the US business. Some common examples include changes in ownership, nature of the business, shift in physical office addresses and discontinuation or suspension of existing operations.

 For example, if you obtain a L-1 approval for a trucking company, and several months later shift your business to a restaurant – your likely in violation of your L-1 visa status and the subsequent extension/approval will likely be denied.

 Can my children and spouse qualify for L-2 visas? Does my spouse receive work authorization?

 L-2 dependents include your legal spouse and children under-21 at the time of filing. One advantage of the L-1 visa is that your L-2 dependents may receive work authorization – therefore the spouse of the main applicant has significant freedom to work for any US employer, including the sponsoring L-1 US entity. Children under-21 will be able to attend school and also obtain work authorization when they are of the requisite age.

 Does my foreign business need to continue to operate while I am on the L-1 visa?

Yes. The basis of the L-1 visa is an intracompany transfer. The moment the foreign entity (i.e. non-US entity) ceases to operate, all L-1 visa applicants will be ineligible. Therefore, the operations of the foreign company must continue throughout the entire duration of the L-1 visa holders stay in the United States.

During the extension and renewal process it will also be required to provide updated documentation for both the US and non-US company in order to qualify. This includes documentation related to updated tax-returns, financials, company organizational charts and more.

 How do I know if my foreign business will qualify for purposes of the L-1 visa?

The requirements are not black and white. Generally, it is necessary to demonstrate that the two entities are large enough to justify an employee transfer. For the L-1A managerial/executive category, the foreign company should have a three-tier organizational structure – this means that there are at least three-layers within the organization (i.e. Directors à Managers à Employees). The annual revenues should also be healthy, and anything less than $250,000 USD will generally be flagged.

 With regards to the US-entity it is also necessary to justify the L-1 transfer. There should be a minimum of 1-2 employees in the US company before applying for the visa.

 Please contact us today for an initial consultation regarding your US visa eligibly.

Can I work for another company on a L-1 visa?

No. The L-1 visa is effectively sponsored by a US-petitioning entity. This means that the applicant/beneficiary is limited to working for the US employer. If another employer offers you a job in the United States, you will still need to obtain a new, valid visa or effectively change your status within the United States.

Oftentimes, the L-1 entrepreneur/investor may want to expand the existing US operations even more. If the expansion objectives fall generally within the scope of the five-year business plan and continue to meet the corporate-relationship requirements for the L-1 visa it may be possible. It is also possible for the L-1 visa holder to invest, and become an owner/shareholder of other entities that are separate from the sponsoring entity – however, you cannot work for that entity.