If you are working abroad and your company has an office in the US or is planning to expand its operations into the US, the L-1 visa may be available to you.
The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa designed to facilitate temporary transfer of foreign companies’ managers, executives, and specialized knowledge workers to the US to work in the same capacity with an office of the same employer, its parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate. Also known as Intracompany Transferee visa, this visa may be used not only by already established US companies, but also by start-up, establishing companies petitioning for foreign employees to open and develop a new business in the US.
L-1 is similar to H-1B in that most L-1 occupations would qualify as professionals under the H-1B category. However, L-1 has certain advantages over H-1B. Unlike H-1B, L-1 is not subject to a numerical cap. Hence, US employers may file L-1 petition anytime. There is no requirement to comply with the prevailing wage requirement applicable to H-1B, allowing the petitioner and the intracompany transferee to freely negotiate the salary. Further, the L-2 spouse is eligible to work in the US during the validity of the L-2 visa, a benefit that is not available to the dependent spouse of an H-1B.
L-1 may also be an alternative visa to Traders (E-1)/Investors (E-2) visa. A foreign national operating a business abroad may opt to apply for L-1 instead of E-1/E-2 if there is no treaty between US and his home country or if he is unable to meet the substantial investment requirement, but qualifies as a manager, executive or a person with specialized knowledge or skills and meets the other requirements of L-1 visa.
A petition must be filed with the USCIS using the prescribed form and paying the prescribed filing fees. The petitioner must be a US or foreign firm, corporation, or other legal entity doing business as an employer in the US and in at least one other country, as a parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary. The foreign company must have been in operation for at least one year and must remain in operation at all times during the validity of the L-1 visa.
The law requires that the intracompany transferee has worked for the foreign entity for 1 continuous year within the preceding 3 years prior to the filing of the petition. This requirement limits the visa to existing foreign employees of the petitioning US employer or its parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate abroad.
The L-1 visa may be granted for an initial term of 3 years for established petitioning company and 1 year for a new office. Extensions may be granted for additional 2 years, up to a maximum period of 7 years for managers and executives (L-1A subcategory) and 5 years for specialized knowledge workers (L-1B subcategory). After completing the maximum visa period, an L-1 beneficiary may be granted new L-1 visa after he has resided abroad for 1 year.
Per regulations, USCIS is required to adjudicate L-1 petitions within 30 days. In reality, however, the processing time takes longer. Currently, the USCIS California Service Center is processing petitions filed no later than May 1, 2008.
If you have questions on immigration matters, it is best to consult with an experienced attorney. Bander Law Firm has been providing immigration services for more than 15 years and has multilingual staff who can communicate effectively in Tagalog, Spanish, Mandarin, and Sinhala. Initial consultations on immigration matters, except criminal-related matters, are free.
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Atty. Joel R. Bander is the partner of Bander Law Firm, LLP. With over 15 years of litigation and immigration experience, Mr. Bander is a leading litigator and accomplished trial strategist. He has successfully handled numerous cases before Federal, State, Civil, and Criminal Judges and has participated in hundreds of arbitrations and trials.
Bander Law Firm, LLP Downtown office address: 1055 W. 7th Street, Suite 1950, Los Angeles, CA, 90017. Tel: (213) 873–4333 Fax: (213) 873–4334. San Gabriel Office address: 1045 E. Valley Blvd., #A215, San Gabriel, CA 91776. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
( Published on November 29, 2008 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C4 )
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