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DO YOU QUALIFY?
Either a U.S. employer or foreign employer can file the L1 Petition, but the foreign employer must have or establish a legal business entity in the U.S. in which to send the L-1 employee. The petition must be filed with:
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Evidence of the qualifying relationship between the U.S. and the foreign employer which address ownership and control, such as an annual report, copies of articles of incorporation, financial statements, or stock certificates;
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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 three_year period before the filing of the petition in an executive or managerial capacity or in a position involving specialized knowledge; and
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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.
NOTE: Managerial, Executive and professional level employees may also qualify for H1B or O-1 visas.
If the L1 worker is coming to the U.S. as a manager or executive (L-1A) to open or to be employed in a new office, the petition should also include the following additional evidence:
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Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
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The beneficiary has, or upon establishment will have, the qualifying relationship to the foreign employer and the qualifying position; and
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The intended U.S. 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:
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the proposed nature of the U.S. office (size and scope, organizational structure, and financial goals),
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financial information about the foreign entity (the size of the U.S. investment and the financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and to commence doing business in the U.S.), and
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the organizational structure of the foreign entity.
If the alien is coming to the U.S. in a specialized knowledge capacity (L-1B) to open or to be employed in a new office, also file the petition with evidence that:
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Sufficient premises to house the new office have been secured;
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The business entity in the U.S is or will be a qualifying organization;
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The petitioner has the financial ability to compensate the alien beneficiary and to begin doing business in the U.S.
To determine if the L1 visa is right for you, schedule a Consultation now.
EXTENSIONS OF STAY
Extensions of stay may be granted as long as the Petitioner is able to demonstrate the continuing operation of the business and the L1 beneficiary’s presence continues to be necessary to the operation. New L-1 offices are only granted an initial period of authorized stay of 1 year and must file an extension petition with evidence of the continuing operation in the U.S. and the need for the L1A or L1B’s presence.
BLANKET L PETITION
Employers who regularly file L petitions may wish to consider filing for a blanket L petition in order to obtain continuing approval for itself (and some or all of its parents, branches, subsidiaries and affiliates in the U.S.). This simplifies the process of approving and admitting additional individual L-1A and L-1B workers. The blanket L petition must be filed by the U.S. employer who will be the single representative between USCIS and the qualifying organizations and must be filed with copies of evidence of the following:
- Petitioner and its branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates are engaged in commercial trade or services;
- Petitioner has an office in the United States that has been doing business for one year or more;
- Petitioner has 3 or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates;
- Petitioner and its qualifying organizations have obtained approved petitions for at least ten L-1 professionals during the previous year or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least 25 million dollars, or have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.
EXTENDING A BLANKET L PETITION
A petitioner may file an I-129 to extend an expiring blanket petition. The extension petition must be filed with:
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A copy of the previous approval notice for the blanket petition; and
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A summary of the employment of L-1 aliens admitted under the blanket petition during the preceding three years, listing, for each alien:
His or her name;
Position(s) held during the period;
Employing entity;
Date of initial L-1 admission under the blanket;
Date of final departure, if the alien has been transferred outside the United States, and;
Documentation of any changes in approved relationships and additional qualifying relationships.
Schedule your Case Evaluation now.
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