What is the L1 Visa?
The L1 visa is a temporary visa that enables workers of a company outside the U.S. to transfer to their U.S. office for a certain period. We will be explaining what you need to know about the L1 visa.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the L1A and L1B visas may be issued when an employer files a petition to obtain authorization for qualified employees to be allowed to work and live in the United States.
Today we here at SBNRI, will be covering the L1 visa process. We aim to provide the necessary information for those seeking an L1 visa. We will be explaining the eligibility criteria and application procedure laid out by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
We will be covering:
- What is the L1A and L1B visa ?
- Rules for employers establishing new offices
- Eligibility for L1A Visa
- Eligibility for L1B Visa
- How to file
- L1 visa cost
- How long does it take to get an L1 VISA ? (USCIS online account)
- After you file
- Documents required for an L1 visa
What is the L1A and L1B Visa ?
L1A Visa
- The L1A visa is for intracompany transferees who work in managerial or executive positions in a company that is located outside the United States.
L1B Visa
- The L1B visa is for intracompany transferees who work in positions requiring specialized knowledge.
2. Establishing New Offices (rules for employers establishing new offices)
This is information for the employer filing a petition to obtain authorization for qualified employees to be allowed to work and live in the United States.
Foreign employers seeking to send an employee to the United States as an executive or manager to establish a new office must show:
- They have a physical location for the new office;
- The employee has been employed as an executive or manager for one continuous year in the three years before filing the petition; and
- The new office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.
3. Eligibility for an L1A Visa
In the section the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has given an in-depth explanation of what constitutes an L1A classification and what qualifications meet the manager or executive role requirements.
L1A Classification
The L1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one. Your employer must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with fee, on your behalf.
To qualify, you must:
Generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately before your admission to the United States; and
Be seeking to enter the United States to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
Executive capacity generally refers to your ability to make a wide range of decisions without much oversight.
Managerial capacity generally refers to your ability to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to manage the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization. It may also refer to your ability to manage an essential function of the organization at a high level, without direct supervision of others.
Your employer must also meet general qualifications.
4. Eligibility for the L1B Visa
Here the USCIS explains what constitutes specialized knowledge for the L1B classification.
L1B classification
The L1B nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer a professional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one. Your employer must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with fee, on your behalf.
To qualify, you must:
Generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately before your admission to the United States; and
Be seeking to enter the United States to provide services in a specialized knowledge capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
Specialized knowledge either means knowledge you have about 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.
Your employer must also meet general qualifications. You can visit the L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge page on the USCIS website for more information.
5. How to File
Your employer must:
- Review the instructions for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
- Complete and sign Form I-129;
- Pay the filing fee, if applicable; and
- Provide all required evidence and supporting documentation, including a duplicate copy of your Form I-129 and all supporting documentation, even if they are filing the Form I-129 to seek a change of status (COS) or extension of stay (EOS) on your behalf.
6. L1 Visa Cost
Form 1-29, Petition for a nonimmigrant worker has a fee of $460.
7. How long does it take to get an L1 visa ?
In order to get status updates about your case, you can learn how to create a USCIS online account to stay informed about the L1 visa processing time.
8. After You File
Once the USCIS receives your Form I-129, the USCIS will process your petition and your employer will receive a:
- Receipt notice confirming that USCIS received the petition;
- Biometric services notice, if applicable;
- Notice to appear for an interview, if required; and
- A notice of the decision of USCIS.
9. Documents Required for L1 Visa
The following documents are required for an L-1 visa:
- Current and old passports(if any)
- Recent passport size photograph
- Filled in Form DS-160
- Interview appointment letter (original and photocopy)
- Receipt number of I-129 petition along with a physical copy
- Visa issuance fee demand draft
- Work experience letters from previous employers
- Certificates of training undertaken, degree (original with photocopy)
- Resume
- Bank records for previous 6 months
- Information regarding the U.S company
- Photographs of place of employment
- Contact details of two coworkers from previous jobs
We hope that this information has clarified the procedure for applying for an L1 visa.
In a forthcoming article we will discuss the process of converting from an L1 visa to a Green Card.
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FAQs
You will have to create a USCIS online account to track your application.
The employer has to fill out form I-129 for the L1 visa.
The L1A is meant for those in a managerial or executive position whereas the L1B is meant for those who have specialized knowledge.
