General Information
Companies that need to transfer senior personnel from a foreign office or foreign affiliate frequently may use the L-1 visa conveniently.
Eligibility Requirements
Executives, managers or persons with specialized knowledge with at least one continuous year of previous experience with a foreign company which is either organizing a US entity, branch office or joint-venture agreement are eligible to receive L-1 visas.
An “executive” is defined as a person who “directs and develops” the management of an organization or major component or function of the organization. An executive establishes goals and policies and exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision making, receiving only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization.
A manager is defined as a person who has supervision and control over the work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or who manages an essential function, department or subdivision of an organization. A manager has the authority to execute or recommend personnel actions if others are directly supervised. If no other employees are supervised, he or she must function at a senior level within the organization or with respect to the function, manage and exercise discretion over the dayto-day operations of the entity or branch managed.
To qualify as an “employee with specialized knowledge,” the individual must possess special knowledge of the petitioning organization’s products, services, research, equipment, techniques, management or other aspects, and its application in the international markets. The employee may also qualify under L-1 classification if (s)he has an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes or procedures.
The entity employing such a person in the United States must be a subsidiary, affiliate or branch office of a foreign entity and U.S. companies, where there is either more than 50% stock control or a 51/49 joint venture with joint veto power. Previous requirements that the U.S. company train replacement persons have been removed.
Documentation Requirements
Foreign Employment
The requirements for an L-1 visa include proof of continuous foreign employment for at least one year within the previous three years immediately prior to the application. The foreign employment requirement is satisfied even if there is a valid interruption in the performance of duties for the foreign company. If the non-immigrant enters the United States in his/her capacity as an employee of the organization on some other type of visa, the period thus spent working in the United States under a valid visa (other than L-1) will not be counted against him/her in assessing the one year requirement. However, neither will it be counted as applicable towards the one-year previous foreign employment provision. As a result, such other period is neither hurtful nor helpful to the L-1 visa application.
Relationship between Employers
The relationship between companies must be demonstrated either by showing that the corporations are the same or that one is a subsidiary, affiliate or branch office of the other.
Duration of Status
For a U.S. business that is just starting up, an L-1 visa is valid for one year. For U.S. businesses that have already been doing business in the United States for a year or longer, the visa is valid for up to three years with two-year extensions available for a total of up to five years for a key employee with specialized knowledge, and up to seven years for an executive or manager. L-1 extensions have to be filed in the U.S. at the CIS Regional office with jurisdiction over the entity’s primary place of business.
Application Procedures
An L-1 visa application for foreign nationals must be approved through a CIS Regional office and takes at least four weeks approximately to process. The CIS then sends the approval notice to the relevant U.S. consulate and the employer, following which the applicant obtains the L-1 visa.
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