Intracompany
Transfer Visa, USA
The US government provides an unlimited number of visas for managers and executives (called L-1 visas) transferring from the foreign branch or subsidiary of a company to a U.S. branch. Large multinational companies may apply for a blanket L-1 visa to expedite the processing of large numbers of employees,
L-1 Visa Quota: none
Length of L-1 Visa: 3 years
L-1 Visa Extensions: 2 years at a time, up to a total of 7 years (5 years for an L-1B visa)
L-1 Visa Application Processing Times: Normally 30-90 days. For faster processing, a company may apply for Premium Processing Service, which speeds up USCIS response time to within fifteen (15) days of receipt of a petition, application or other documents.
In order to qualify for an L-1 visa you must:
(1) be a manager or executive, or person with specialized
knowledge,
who has been employed by the company continuously for at least one of
the past
three years.
(2) show that your non-U.S. employer is a currently operating
branch,
subsidiary, affiliate, or joint venture partner of the U.S. company to which you
are
transferring.
The two types of L-1 visas
are:
(1) L-
1
A
visa
- for foreign managers and
executives transferring to the US to manage a company or a major
function or
division of a company; to supervise employees or manage an essential
department
of a company
(2) L-1B
visa
- for foreign employees with specialized knowledge
of the company's products, research methods or marketing methods, which
are
important to the company's competitiveness
What is the difference between an L-1 A and an L-1B visa?
L-1A visas
confer certain advantages that L-1B visas do not:
(1) Less
paperwork: The petitioning company of an L-1B applicant must apply
for a Labor Certification for the applicant in addition to the petition
and
application. L-1A applicants are not required to do so.
(2) More
time:
L-1A visa holders may extend their visas up to 7 years; L-1B visa
holders may extend up to 5 years. Also, L-1A visa holders whose 7-year
limit
has been reached may re-enter the US for another full term as an L-1
holder after a one-year period of absence from the US.
L-1 visa applications involve two steps:
(1) the applicant's employer must file a petition with
the
USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). (A
multinational
company that regularly transfers many employees may apply for a
blanket L-1
visa order to bypass the petition process.)
(2) Once the petition is approved, the L-1 visa
application
can be filed by the applicant.
*For L-1B applicants, the petitioning employer must also
apply for
a Labor Certification
Visas for accompanying
relatives Dependent
relatives (spouses or children under 21) of L-1 visa
holders are eligible for L-2 visas. They may live and work in the
U.S. In order to work, dependent relatives should
apply for a
Employment Authorization (EAD).
