L-1 Intra Company Transferees

The L-1 visa is a category of non-immigrant visa in the United States specifically created for intra-company transfers. This visa permits international companies to relocate select employees from their overseas offices to their U.S. branches on a temporary basis. Often favored by multinational corporations, the L-1 visa facilitates the transfer of essential staff to the United States for managing operations, supervising projects, and imparting specialized knowledge, thereby sustaining the company’s international presence.

An L-1A visa caters to managers and executives being relocated to a U.S. office that functions as a subsidiary, branch, affiliate, or parent of their foreign company. On the other hand, an L-1B visa is tailored for employees possessing specialized knowledge about the petitioning company’s products, services, processes, equipment, or techniques.

To be eligible for an L-1 visa, the employee is required to have been employed with the overseas branch of the U.S. company for a minimum of one year within the three years preceding their transfer to the U.S. branch.

There is no annual limit on the number of ‘new’ L-1s that can be issued each year.

No, L-1 do not have a minimum educational requirement as these visas solely focus on bringing employees from the foreign company to the U.S. affiliated company in an executive or high-level managerial role, or someone who manages an essential function of the business and/or employees who have advanced/specialized knowledge in the company’s services, products, equipment, etc.    

For eligibility to petition for an L-1 visa, both the U.S. company and its foreign counterpart must belong to one of five specific classifications. These include being a Branch, a Subsidiary, Affiliates, Joint Venture Partners, or an International Accounting Firm.

The restructuring of your company can impact your L-1 visa status. According to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), both the foreign and U.S. companies must satisfy specific criteria to qualify for an L-1 visa. If, following a corporate acquisition or merger, the relationship between these two entities ceases to exist, this could pose a problem for your L-1 visa eligibility. On the other hand, if the successor company maintains a qualifying relationship with the foreign company, it may be necessary to file an amended petition to reflect these changes.

Indeed, you have the option to transition from an L-1A visa to an L-1B visa, or the other way around. According to USCIS guidelines, your role with the U.S. company does not necessarily have to be identical to the one you held with the foreign company. This means if you were employed as a worker with advanced specialized knowledge in the foreign company, you are eligible to work in the U.S. entity as a manager or executive, and similarly, those in executive or managerial roles in the foreign entity can switch to positions involving specialized knowledge in the U.S.

Yes, just like the H-1B visa an L-1 visa is a dual intent visa. This means that you, as a nonimmigrant beneficiary, can continue working in your L-1 visa even though you may have taken steps to obtain your green card.

The base filing fee to file form I-129 is $460 (this fee will always be submitted with any L-1 petition whether it is new employment, a change of status to L-1, renewal, and/or an extension), for any initial filings for L-1 visa for a new beneficiary the employer must also pay a fraud prevention and detection fee of $500 (note that this is a one-time fee meaning you won’t have to pay this fee when extending the beneficiary’s status), also, any employer who employes 50 or more individuals in the U.S. may be subject to paying an additional $4,500 if 50% of those employees are in H-1B or L-1 status.  Lastly, if you choose to file the petition with premium processing that is an additional filing fee of $2,500.

L-1 processing timelines can vary depending on the complexity of the case. To check the current processing times for L-1 cases you can visit the following website: https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times.

If your employer decides to file your L-1 petition under “premium processing”, you should have an update on your petition within 10-15 calendar days.

Yes, your L-2 dependent spouse will be granted L-2S status which will grant them employment authorization.

Your spouse and/or unmarried children under 21 will apply for L-2 status to join you in the US.

Your child(ren) will be able enroll and attend school for the duration of their L-2 nonimmigrant status. It is essential to note, however, that while they hold L-2 status, they will not be eligible for employment benefits typically associated with F-1 student status, such as post-completion Optional Practical Training. In addition, L-2 minors enrolled in U.S. universities who reach the age of 21 must switch to an F-1 visa to continue their studies.

This will vary depending on which L-1 visa you are granted. For example, if you are granted L-1A status you will be allowed to stay in the U.S. on L-1A status for a maximum of 7 years. Whereas, if you are granted L-1B status you will be allowed to stay in the U.S. for a maximum of 5 years.

Yes, you can recapture time on your L-1 status. Your L-1 clock stops when you travel outside of the US. This means if you come to the US for 1 year and then you leave the U.S. for any duration of time, USCIS will not count the time you spend outside of the U.S. as part of your L-1 nonimmigrant status. Your L-1 “clock” stops for the duration you are outside the U.S.

No, after you have reached the limit of your 5- or 7-year visa, it cannot be extended any further. However, your employer has the option to file for permanent residency on your behalf, which would enable you and your family to change your status to that of lawful permanent residents.

Yes, purchasing a house on L-1 status is possible.

Unlike an H-1B visa, there is no prevailing wage or minimum salary requirement for an L-1 visa holders.

Yes, you can attend school while on an L-1 status, as long as the primary purpose of your stay in the U.S. on an L-1 visa is to remain employed with the sponsoring company.

An immigration lawyer can assist the prospective L-1 beneficiary and employer in preparing the strongest case possible for L-1 petition approval. In the majority of instances, an experienced immigration attorney may be able to determine beforehand whether the position and/or credentials qualify for an L-1.

Most State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may issue a limited duration Driver’s license once you show them the receipt notice for the pending L-1 petition.

No, it’s not possible to work for multiple unrelated employers while on L-1 status. You are only limited to working for the company who has a relationship with your foreign company.

No, it’s not possible to be an independent contractor while on L-1 status. A bona-fide employer-employee relationship, typically evidenced by a W-2 form, must exist between you and your L-1 employer.

No, you’re not permitted to freelance on a L-1 status. A bona-fide employer-employee relationship, typically evidenced by a W-2 form, must exist between you and your L-1 employer.