L-1A Visas for Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
The L-1 visa allows a U.S. employer to relocate an employee possessing specialized knowledge relevant to the organization’s interests or a manager/executive from an affiliated foreign office to a U.S. office. This classification further permits a foreign company without an existing U.S. office to dispatch a specialized knowledge employee or manager/executive to establish one in the United States.
Visas For Executive Or Managerial Transferees To U.S. Corporate Operations
Portions of the content on this page are available as public information on the USCIS website.
Who Qualifies?
To qualify for L-1 classification, the employer must meet two key criteria:
- Establish a qualifying relationship with a foreign company, such as a subsidiary or branch.
- Currently engage in or will be conducting business as an employer in the U.S. and at least one other country throughout the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1.
“Doing business” is defined as the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization, excluding the mere presence of an agent or office in the United States and abroad.
The employee must also fulfill two tests:
- Worked for the qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years preceding admission to the United States.
- Intend to enter the U.S. to provide services in an executive or managerial capacity or specialized knowledge capacity for a branch of the same employer or its qualifying organizations.
- “Specialized knowledge” entails unique expertise in the organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, or management. Executive capacity refers to the ability to make decisions independently, while managerial capacity involves supervising professional employees or managing a department, subdivision, function, or component.
For new offices, relaxed rules apply, requiring the employer to demonstrate:
- Sufficient physical premises for the new office.
- The employee’s one-year executive or managerial employment in the three years before petition filing.
- The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of petition approval.
In the application process, the employer must file Form I-129 on behalf of the employee, with approval notifying the consulate. The employee applies for a visa and presents the approved I-797 to the consulate. Seeking assistance from a qualified immigration professional is advisable due to the complexity of the process.
Validity Period
The duration of the visa varies:
- Employees establishing a new office are allowed a maximum initial stay of one year.
- Other qualified employees have a maximum initial stay of three years.
- L-1A employees can request extensions of up to two years, with a maximum limit of seven years.
Family of Visa Holder
The relocating employee has the option to be joined by their spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21. The spouse is eligible for work authorization, and family members have the opportunity to attend school.
