What is The L-1A Visa for Intracompany Transferee Executive Or Manager?

The L-1A 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.

General Qualifications Of The Employer And Employee

To qualify for L-1A classification in this category, the employer must:

  • Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to as qualifying organizations).
  • Currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and 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.
  • While the business must be viable, there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade.

Also To Qualify, The Named Employee Must

  • Generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States.
  • Be seeking to enter the United States to render services in an executive or managerial capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
    • Executive capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.
    • Managerial capacity generally refers to 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. It may also refer to the employee’s ability to manage an essential function of the organization at a high level, without direct supervision of others.

Elevate Your Leadership with L-1A Visas

Our L-1A Visa service page is your gateway to exploring the opportunities that await you in the United States. At D’Alessio Law, we specialize in guiding intracompany transferee executives and managers, helping them seize the reins of American business success

Period Of Stay

  • Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year.
  • All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years.
  • For all L-1A employees, requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years, until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.

Family Of L-1 Workers

The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age.

Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee. If these family members are already in the United States and seeking change of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, they may apply collectively, with fee, on Form I-539.

Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing Form I-765 with fee. If approved, there is no specific restriction as to where the L-2 spouse may work.

Blanket Petitions

Certain organizations may establish the required intracompany relationship in advance of filing individual L-1 petitions by filing a blanket petition. In order to establish eligibility for blanket L certification, the employee and each of the qualifying organizations must be engaged in commercial trade or services. They must also have:

  1. An office in the United States which has been doing business for one year or more.
  2. Three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates.
  3. Meet one of the following criteria
    1. Along with the other qualifying organizations, have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals during the previous 12-month period; or
    2. Have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or
    3. Have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.

The approval of a blanket L petition does not guarantee that an employee will be granted L-1A classification. It does, however, provide the employer with the flexibility to transfer eligible employees to the United States quickly and with short notice without having to file an individual petition with USCIS.

In most cases, once the blanket petition has been approved, the employer need only complete Form I-129S, Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition, and send it abroad to the employee along with a copy of the blanket petition approval notice and other required evidence, so that the employee may present it to a consular officer.

L-IA Executive Visa

What is The L-1A Visa for Intracompany Transferee Executive Or Manager?

The L-1A 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.

General Qualifications Of The Employer And Employee

To qualify for L-1A classification in this category, the employer must:

  • Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to as qualifying organizations).
  • Currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and 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.
  • While the business must be viable, there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade.

Also To Qualify, The Named Employee Must

  • Generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States.
  • Be seeking to enter the United States to render services in an executive or managerial capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
    • Executive capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.
    • Managerial capacity generally refers to 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. It may also refer to the employee’s ability to manage an essential function of the organization at a high level, without direct supervision of others.

Elevate Your Leadership with L-1A Visas

Our L-1A Visa service page is your gateway to exploring the opportunities that await you in the United States. At D’Alessio Law, we specialize in guiding intracompany transferee executives and managers, helping them seize the reins of American business success

Period Of Stay

  • Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year.
  • All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years.
  • For all L-1A employees, requests for extension of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years, until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.

Family Of L-1 Workers

The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age.

Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee. If these family members are already in the United States and seeking change of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, they may apply collectively, with fee, on Form I-539.

Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing Form I-765 with fee. If approved, there is no specific restriction as to where the L-2 spouse may work.

Blanket Petitions

Certain organizations may establish the required intracompany relationship in advance of filing individual L-1 petitions by filing a blanket petition. In order to establish eligibility for blanket L certification, the employee and each of the qualifying organizations must be engaged in commercial trade or services. They must also have:

  1. An office in the United States which has been doing business for one year or more.
  2. Three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates.
  3. Meet one of the following criteria
    1. Along with the other qualifying organizations, have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals during the previous 12-month period; or
    2. Have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or
    3. Have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.

The approval of a blanket L petition does not guarantee that an employee will be granted L-1A classification. It does, however, provide the employer with the flexibility to transfer eligible employees to the United States quickly and with short notice without having to file an individual petition with USCIS.

In most cases, once the blanket petition has been approved, the employer need only complete Form I-129S, Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition, and send it abroad to the employee along with a copy of the blanket petition approval notice and other required evidence, so that the employee may present it to a consular officer.