L-1 Visa

What You Should Know About L-1 Visas

The L-1 visa is a United States nonimmigrant visa that allows a multinational company to send foreign employees to work temporarily in their U.S. offices. These employees are often referred to as “intracompany transferees.”

This popular visa has two types:  L-1A and L-1B visas.

Keep reading to learn more about the L-1 visa’s eligibility requirements, application process, permitted length of stay, and more.

What is the L-1A Visa?

The L-1A visa allows a U.S. employer to transfer a manager or executive from an affiliated foreign office to one of its offices in the United States. This visa type also permits multinational corporations to transfer a foreign manager or executive to establish a new office in the U.S.

Like other nonimmigrant visas, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires the multinational employer to sponsor the manager or executive by filing a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker on behalf of the employee.

What qualifications must I meet to get an L-1A visa?

Both the employer and the employee must qualify for the L-1A visa.

For the employer, the following requirements must be met:

• Have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company (such as a parent company, subsidiary, branch office, or affiliate (called a “qualifying organization”)); and
• Currently doing business (or will be doing business if a new office is being established) as an employer in the U.S. as well as in at least one other country “directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1.” The employer does not need to be engaged in international trade.

The USCIS defines “doing business” as “the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.”

For the foreign employee, the following requirements must be met:

• Have worked for a qualifying organization abroad for at least one continuous year within the past three years immediately preceding entrance into the U.S.; and
• Currently seeking entrance into the U.S. “to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.”

The USCIS defines “executive capacity” as “the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.”

Additionally, the USCIS defines “managerial capacity” as “the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization.” Managerial capacity also means any employee’s ability to manage an organization’s essential function at a high level with little to no supervision.

What happens if there is a new office?

In some cases, a multinational company may wish to send a foreign executive or managerial employee to establish a new office in the U.S., the employer must show:

• The employer has already secured a physical space and/or location for the new office;
• The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within 12 months after the petition’s approval; and
• The foreign employee has been employed as a manager or executive for at least one continuous year within the past three years immediately preceding the petition’s filing.

How long can I stay in the U.S. with an L-1A visa?

Qualified foreign employees with an L-1A visa can stay in the United States for a maximum initial stay of three years. For those qualified employees entering the U.S. to establish a new office under an L-1A visa, the maximum initial stay is one year.

All L-1A qualified employees may request an extension of their stay in increments of up to an additional two years, until the qualified employee has reached a maximum of seven years.

What is the L-1B Visa?

The L-1B visa allows a U.S. employer to transfer professional employees with specialized knowledge from an affiliated foreign office to one of its offices in the United States. Specialized knowledge relates to expertise in the organization’s processes, technology, products, and services. Like the L-1A visa, this visa type also permits multinational corporations to transfer a professional with specialized knowledge to the U.S. for the purpose of establishing a new office.

Like other nonimmigrant visas, the multinational employer must sponsor the professional employee by filing a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, on behalf of the employee.

What qualifications must I meet to get an L-1B visa?

Both the employer and the employee must qualify for the L-1A visa.

For the employer, the following requirements must be met:

• Have a qualifying relationship with  a “qualifying organization”; and
• Currently doing business (or will be doing business if a new office is being established) as an employer in the U.S. as well as in at least one other country “directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1.” The employer does not need to be engaged in international trade.

For the foreign employee, the following requirements must be met:

• Have worked for a qualifying organization abroad for at least one continuous year within the past three years immediately preceding entrance into the U.S.; and
• Currently seeking entrance into the U.S. “to provide services in a specialized knowledge capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.”

The USCIS defines “specialized knowledge” as “either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures.”

What happens if there is a new office?

In some cases, a multinational company may wish to send an employee with specialized knowledge to establish a new office in the U.S., the employer must show:

• The employer has already secured a physical space and/or location for the new office;
• The employer can financially compensate the employee; and
• The employer can begin doing business in the United States.

How long can I stay in the U.S. with an L-1B visa?

Qualified foreign employees with an L-1B visa can stay in the United States for a maximum initial stay of three years. For those qualified employees entering the U.S. to establish a new office under an L-1B visa, the maximum initial stay is one year.

All L-1B qualified employees may request an extension of their stay in increments of up to an additional two years, until the qualified employee has reached a maximum of five years.

Can My Family Join Me in the U.S. with an L-1 Visa?

Eligible employees with L-1 visas may have their spouses and unmarried children who are under the age of 21 join them in the United States. To accomplish this, these spouses and unmarried children must apply for the L-2 nonimmigrant visa.

If the L-2 visa petition is approved, then the spouse and/or unmarried children may typically stay in the United States for the same period of time as the L-1 employee. Additionally, L-2 spouses are U.S. employment authorized. To complete the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, L-2 spouses can present the following documentation:

• An unexpired Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record with a note that reflects the L-2 nonimmigrant status. As of January 30, 2022, the USCIS and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began issuing Form I-94 with an L-2S notation for spouses of L-1 workers;
• An unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD);
• An expired EAD with documentation showing that the EAD was automatically extended.  L-2 spouses may qualify for this automatic extension if they timely filed a renewal Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, based on the L nonimmigrant status and an unexpired Form I-94 showing their L-2 or L-2S nonimmigrant status.

If these spouses and/or unmarried children seek a change of status or an extension of their L-2 stay while they are currently in the United States, then they must file a Form I-539, Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status.

A qualified immigration attorney can help you and your family navigate these family visa processes.

How Much Does an L-1 Visa Cost?

Since applying for an L-1 visa is often a multi-step process, more than one fee may be required.

First, when filing your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, you must also pay a filing fee of $460. This fee is paid by the petitioning U.S. employer.

If you have a spouse and/or unmarried children under 21 years of age, you’ll need to pay a filing fee of $370 along with your Form I-539, Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status. If you are applying for a dependent L-1 visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad, no Form I-539 is required.

You may also request premium processing of your L-1 visa petition. However, premium processing will require an additional $2,500 fee. With premium processing, the USCIS will provide a response to you within 15 days. However, this does not mean that the USCIS will approve your case within 15 days as they may require additional documentation from you before making their final decision. If additional documentation is required, then you are facing “normal” processing times, which could take three months or longer.

Either the U.S. employer or the L-1 visa petitioner can pay this premium processing fee.

L-1 visa petitions also require a fraud prevention and detection fee of $500. However, this fee is not required when you apply for an extension of your L-1 visa status. Again, the U.S. employer is required to pay this fee.

Finally, once the USCIS approves your Form I-129, then you’ll apply for your L-1 visa at the U.S. consulate or embassy in your home country.  This visa application fee is $190 and must accompany your Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application. The L-1 employee is responsible for paying this visa application fee.

Certain U.S. employers may have to pay an additional fee of $4,500, which is called the Public Law 114-113 fee if:

• They employ 50 or more employees in the United States;
• More than 50 percent of their U.S. employees have an H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status; and
• They are filing an initial L-1 visa petition or an L-1 change of employer petition.