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Who is Eligible for an Intra-company Transferee Visa (L-1)?

An L-1 Intra-company Transferee Visa is a nonimmigrant visa that international companies utilize to transfer their foreign employees into the U.S. to work in their U.S. parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate company. 

To be eligible for an L-1 Visa, an employee must have worked abroad for the company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years.  The foreign company must be related to the U.S. company and must be engaging in business activity in the U.S. and in one other country during the entire period of the L-1 transfer.  Additionally, the organization needs to have control over both the foreign and the U.S. company, but there is no requirement that the U.S. and foreign branches be in the same business.

For L-1 eligibility the transferred employee must be controlled in some way by the foreign company or the foreign company’s U.S. office.  The employee must also have been employed abroad in an executive or managerial position, or in a position involving specialized knowledge.  The employee must be coming to the U.S. to serve in one of those three capacities and must be qualified for the position by virtue of their prior education and experience.  

Managerial capacity is when an employee functions at a senior level, primarily managing or supervising all or a part of the organization, including essential functions.  They also oversee the day to day operations, including the hiring and firing of employees. 

Executive capacity is when an employ directs the management of all or a major part of the organization.  Such employees establish goals and policies and exercise wide latitude in their decision making, while receiving merely general supervision from their superiors. 

An employee in a position of specialized knowledge is one who has advanced and special knowledge of such things as the company’s product, service, research, equipment and processes and procedures.  Specialized knowledge is different from knowledge generally found in a particular industry or that of a skilled worker.  Usually, it is a key employee whose knowledge is valuable because it is difficult to train others on it without significant economic difficulty.

If an international company seeks to open up a new branch, affiliate or subsidiary in the U.S. it is possible for an employee to come to the U.S. to do so.  The L-1 transferee must still meet the employee qualifications for an L-1 visa.  Furthermore, sufficient evidence demonstrating the international company’s plans for the U.S. venture must be provided.  Such evidence usually entails proof that sufficient physical premises to house the new office has been secured and that the intended U.S. operation will support the employee’s position within one year.

Typically, the approved L-1 is granted for a period of three years.  Extensions are usually given in two year increments. The total period of stay permitted for managers and executives is seven years. For specialized knowledge workers, the total duration is five years. Once the maximum duration has been reached, the alien must reside abroad for at least one year, at which point they may return to the U.S. in L-1 status.

Under the doctrine of dual intent, even though an employee has come to the U.S. temporarily with an L-1 visa, the employee is still allowed to openly and actively work towards achieving permanent residency.   

If you are an international company who seeks to transfer key personnel from abroad into a new or existing U.S. parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate office, the L-1 visa is your best bet, or if you are an L-1 employee who wishes to become a legal permanent resident, the skilled attorneys at Shihab & Associates Co., LPA can assist you in the process of securing the international transfer and immigration of these essential employees and their families.