L Intracompany Transferee Visas

Overview

The L-1 visa category is designed for employees who have worked for a foreign company or branch office for a year or more, and who will transfer to an affiliated company in the United States.

The L-1 visa also applies to foreign employees who need to work in the United States on a periodic basis, but will continue to permanently work for and be compensated by their foreign employer.

Eligibility Requirements for an L-1 Visa

There are four basic eligibility requirements to qualify for an L-1 Visa.

1. The foreign company must be related to the U.S. company.

The foreign company, for which the L-1 employee works, must have a specific relationship to a company in the United States. The relationship must fall within one of the following corporate structures: (i) parent or subsidiary; (ii) affiliate; (iii) 50-50 joint venture; or (iv) branch office.

2. The foreign company must continue business operations outside the United States. 

The foreign company must continue to do business. This includes maintaining staff and active operations. If the foreign company ceases operations, the U.S. company must maintain other ongoing foreign operations outside of the United States.

3. The employee must have held an executive or managerial position, or a job requiring specialized knowledge with the foreign company for one full year within the three years immediately preceding the visa application date.

This service must have been full-time, continuous for one full year within the prior three years, and performed outside the United States.

4. The employee must have the intent and qualifications to immediately perform executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge work at U.S. location.

The employee’s U.S. position does not have to be identical to the one held previously abroad (the U.S. assignment could be a promotion, for example). However, the assignment in the U.S. must involve a similar role or function as that held abroad.

Application Procedure

All L-1 visa applicants (except Canadian citizens) must have a petition filed by mail at a USCIS Service Center in the U.S.

Canadian citizens can apply at any major U.S. port of entry for on the spot adjudication.

Filing Fees

Apart from some limitedexceptions, the following filing fees apply to all L-1 petitions:

• Filing fee of $320.
• Fraud Prevention and Detection fee of $500.
• I-94 Arrival/Departure Record fee of $6. Applications made at an international airport with a pre-clearance facility are exempt from this fee, as it is already included in the price of the airline ticket.

Timing 

Regular Processing - Time frames for approving petitions can vary widely depending on the individual Service Center and on existing backlogs.  It normally takes two to three months for a petition to be approved.

Premium Processing – An L-1 visa petition can be adjudicated in 15 calendar days for payment of an extra $1,000 to the Immigration Service. Please note that while premium processing takes a maximum of fifteen calendar days, the Immigration Service may request additional evidence and this will extend the processing time.

Consular Processing – Once approved at a Service Center, the employee will need to attend an appointment at a U.S. Consulate abroad in order for his/her passport to be endorsed with the visa. Scheduling will depend on the availability of appointments at the Consulate where the individual is applying. It normally takes 2 weeks to schedule and have the passport and visa returned.

Visa Issuance

All visa applicants (except Canadian citizens) are required to obtain an L-1 visa issued into their passport from a U.S. Consulate abroad in order to enter the United States.

If the visa applicant is currently in the U.S. in valid status and subsequently changes to L-1 status, he/she can work without first obtaining the visa stamp. However, the visa stamp must be obtained in order to enter the U.S. at a later date.

Individuals who are approved for L-1 status while in the United States can obtain a visa stamp from the U.S. Consulate in their home country, or any other U.S. Consulate that permits the processing of “third party nationals”.  The U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Ontario in Canada is one example of a U.S. Consulate that accepts L-1 visa processing for nationals of other countries.

Duration of the Visa

L-1A visas (for executives or managers) are normally issued for an initial period of three years and can be renewed in two year increments for a maximum period of seven years.

L-1B visas (for employees with specialized knowledge) are normally issued for an initial period of three years and can be renewed for a further two years for a maximum period of five years.

After this time, the individual must remain outside the United States for one year before being eligible for another L-1 visa. Please note that prior H-1B visa status also counts towards the maximum period authorized for L-1 status. 

Additionally, certain L-1 non-immigrants may extend their status beyond the maximum period if they spend less than six months each year in the U.S.

Family Members

The spouse and children (unmarried and under the age of 21) of an L-1 visa holder may obtain L-2 visas. Children in L-2 status are not authorized to work while in the U.S. unless they obtain their own visas authorizing such employment. A spouse in L-2 status may apply for an Employment Authorization Document. Dependents in L-2 status may attend school in the U.S. on either a part-time or full-time basis.