L1 Visa

Learn About L1 Intra-Company Transfer Visa Eligibility And Requirements For New L1 Visa And Extension

Introduction

The L1 intra-company transferee visa is available to employees of international companies who are being transferred to a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary in the U.S.

VisaPro’s experienced immigration attorneys will prepare and file all the required documents for intra-company transferees and U.S. companies applying for the L1 visa.

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L1 Visa Eligibility – It Is Suitable For:

  • Foreign national executives being transferred to the U.S. to manage an organization or a major function or division of an organization
  • Foreign national managers being transferred to the U.S. to supervise work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or who manages an essential function, department or subdivision
  • Specialized Knowledge employees of companies outside U.S. that have related U.S. branches, subsidiaries, affiliates or joint venture partners
  • Employees and partners of international accounting firms
  • Multinational companies to transfer foreign national executives to manage an organization or a major function or division of an organization in the U.S.
  • Multinational companies to transfer foreign national managers to supervise work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or who manages an essential function, department or subdivision in the U.S.
  • Multinational companies to transfer employees with specialized knowledge such as, its products, research methods and marketing techniques

L1 Visa Benefits

  1. You may legitimately come to the U.S. as an L1 visa intra-company transfer and at the same time, lawfully seek to become a permanent resident
  2. You can freely travel in and out of the U.S. while on a valid L1 visa
  3. Your dependents can live with you in the U.S.
  4. Your spouse can apply for a work permit by filing Form I-765 and engage in employment

L1 Visa Requirements

A. Criteria For Determining Employer’s Eligibility

To be eligible to sponsor an L1 visa, the following conditions must be met:

  1. A qualifying relationship must exist between the U.S. company and the foreign company abroad
  2. Both the foreign company and the U.S company must remain open, active and viable for the entire duration of your employment in the U.S. Failure to maintain required levels of operation results in the loss of L1 status
B. Criteria For Determining Employee’s Eligibility

To apply for an L1 visa, you must demonstrate that:

  1. You have been employed overseas by the transferring organization for at least one year within the past three years and you will be performing duties in the U.S. for the same employer or an affiliate
  2. You are a manager, executive or a specialized knowledge employee

L1 Visa Notes

  • To change the purpose of your visit while you are in the U.S. on an L1 visa, you must change your visa status.
  • The information provided here is applicable to New L1 Visa and L1 Extension.
  • Spouses of L1 visa holders may accept employment in the U.S. by obtaining an Employment Authorization Document.
  • Qualified U.S. companies that frequently transfer non-U.S. employees to their U.S. branches, subsidiaries, affiliates or joint venture partners may do so easily by obtaining L1 Blanket status. Consult with a VisaPro attorney to determine if your company qualifies for L1 Blanket status.
  • Managers and executives holding L1 visas may apply for a Green Card under the first preference category: priority workers. This category is exempt from Labor Certification.

L1 Visa Fees

Filing Fee – Regular $460 or $960
Filing Fee – Premium $2,960 or $3,460 
VisaPro Processing Time1 Week


What VisaPro Customers Are Saying

Knowledgeable, fast, courteous, efficient are all words that describe the services I received from VisaPro. They were very helpful in all phases of the H-1B visa process and they got it right the first time. I have tried other Visa services, but VisaPro is the best by far. VisaPro is the only way to go!"

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