L-1B Guide
The visa for intracompany transferees.
One of the most useful tools available to international companies who need to bring qualified foreign employees to the United States is the L non-immigrant visa category. At Sigra, we work closely with employers to secure L-1 petitions for establishing new U.S. offices as well as transferring managers, executives, and employees with specialized knowledge.
L-1B General Requirements
The sponsoring company must have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company. The foreign national employee must have worked for the qualifying organization overseas for one continuous year in the previous three years and is seeking to enter the United States to offer services in a specialized knowledge capacity.
What Exactly Is Specialized Knowledge?
A person is considered to have specialized knowledge if one of the following conditions is met: (1) the person has specialized knowledge of the company’s goods and their use on the worldwide market, or (2) the person has advanced understanding of the company’s processes and procedures.
L-1B Visa Stay Duration
Qualified personnel entering the United States to start a new office will be permitted to stay for a maximum of one year. All other qualifying employees will be permitted a three-year first stay. The L-1B visa allows for a maximum stay of five years.
If requesting an extension of stay in the L-1A classification, the new office must support a management or executive post after one year.
ADVANTAGES
- The Immigration Services typically decides on the petition within 30-60 days. L-1 visas are initially given for one to three years, with extensions available in two-year increments (with a total stay not to exceed seven years for an L-1A visa and a total stay not to exceed five years for an L-1B visa).
- The intracompany transferee is permitted to work for the US subsidiary or affiliate company.
- During the transferee status term, the spouse and children (under 21) are permitted to accompany the L-1 Visa holder.
- L-1B recipients can get permanent residency through an EB-2 or EB-3 petition supported by their employer.
- L status holders may apply for permanent residency without risking their L status or L-1 visa applications from a US Consular Office overseas.
DISADVANTAGES
- L1 visas are transitory and can only be used for a maximum of seven years for L-1A and five years for L-1B. (L-1A has a seven-year limit while L-1B has a five-year limit for L-1B)
- An employee on an L-1 visa cannot change jobs unless the new company files a second L-1 petition.
- Only multinational corporations are eligible for L-1 visas and individuals with past employment experience with a foreign firm are eligible for this status.