TODAY, we are going to discuss another type of nonimmigrant visa that might apply to your case. There is a nonimmigrant working visa available to foreign business entities with offices in the United States that wish to transfer employees to the United States office for temporary periods of time. It is called the L-1 visa, also sometimes referred to as the "intra-company transferee" visa.
The L-1 visa enables the transfer of managers, executives and specialized knowledge personnel to a United States office, subsidiary or affiliate company of the foreign business entity. To obtain an L-1 visa, the intra-company transferee must be able to prove that he has worked for the company outside the United States for at least one full year within the last three years as an executive, manager or employee with specialized knowledge.
An intra-company transferee who comes to work in a managerial or executive capacity for a United States parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the foreign business entity is given an L-1A visa while one who comes as employee with specialized knowledge is given an L-1B visa.
Dependents (i.e., spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age) of L-1 workers are entitled to L-2 status with the same restrictions as the principal. The L-2 spouse may stay, study, and work while other dependents may only stay and study in the United States . In order for an L-1 petition to be approved, the petition must be filed with the following:
1. Evidence of the qualifying relationship between the United States and the foreign employer which address ownership and control, such as an annual report, copies of articles of incorporation, financial statements, or stock certificates;
2. A letter from the alien’s foreign qualifying employer detailing his or her dates of employment, job duties, qualifications and salary and demonstrating that the alien worked for the employer abroad for at least one continuous year within the threeyear period before the filing of the petition in an executive or managerial capacity or in a position involving specialized knowledge; and
3. A detailed description of the proposed job duties and qualifications and evidence the proposed employment is in an executive or managerial capacity or in a position involving specialized knowledge.
If the alien is coming to the United States as a manager or executive (L-1A) to open or to be employed in a new office, the petition must include evidence that:
1. Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
2. The beneficiary has, or upon establishment will have, the qualifying relationship to the foreign employer and the qualifying position; and
3. The intended United States operation will be able to support the executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition. This must be supported by information regarding:
a) the proposed nature of the United States office (size and scope, organizational structure, and financial goals),
b) financial information about the foreign entity (the size of the United States investment and the financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and to commence doing business in the United States ), and
c) the organizational structure of the foreign entity. If the alien is coming to the United States in a specialized knowledge capacity (L-1B) to open or to be employed in a new office, the petition must include evidence that:
1. Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
2. The business entity in the United States is or will be a qualifying organization; and
3. The petitioner has the financial ability to compensate the alien beneficiary and to begin doing business in the United States.
We have successfully assisted a lot of companies from the abroad in transferring their managers, executives and specialized knowledge personnel to a United States office, subsidiary or affiliate company. Our most recent victory involves the senior manager of one of the largest bank in the Philippines whom we were able to help obtain an L-1A visa and transfer to the United States with his entire family as the marketing manager of the Philippine bank’s remittance company based in Southern California .
If you want to know more about this topic, then we invite you to schedule an appointment for your free legal consultation by calling us at (818) 956-8844 [ Glendale ] or at (626) 331-8188 [ Covina ]. You may also visit us at www.palacioslawfirm.com.
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Attorney Eugene M. Palacios is the founder and principal of the Law Offices of Eugene M. Palacios. He is a highly experienced and respected immigration attorney with a successful track record in handling employment and family-based petitions as well as PERM and naturalization applicatio ns. He is licensed as an attorney in California and is admitted to practice before U.S. Immigration Courts, the U.S. Central District Court, and California State Courts. His offices are located at 100 North Brand Boulevard, Suite 600 , Glendale , California 91203 and at 800 South Barranca Avenue, Suite 250 , Covina , California 91723.
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The above article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice for a specific immigration problem and does not create an attorney-client relationship between our office and the reader. It is for informational purposes only and reflects our law firm’s opinions and views on general issues.
( Published on January 3, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C2 )
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