The visa used most frequently to transfer managers and specialist employees to the United States is the L-1 visa.
L Category (Company internal transfer)
The so-called L classification of non-immigrants allows a foreign employer to send a manager or a specialist to its US branch office. If the main office is located in the USA, a transfer from the foreign branch to the US headquarters is also permitted. Transfers to the US mother company or from a foreign headquarters to the US branch are also possible when the branch office is in a third country.
The L-1 classification allows foreign companies that do not have their own US branch to send an executive or a manager to the United States in order to establish such a branch.
The following information describes some of the features and requirements of the L-1 category.
General qualifications of employers and employees
In order to qualify for the L-1 classification, the foreign company (whether a branch office or parent company) / employer must meet the following requirements:
Have a so-called qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary or affiliated company)
and
be filling the role of employer in the USA and in at least one other country presently or in the future for the duration of the stay of the person transferred as an L-1 employee.
The business must be demonstrably operational. Business is the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods and / or services by a qualified organization. The mere existence of a representative or office in the US is not sufficient (i.e. solely a sales or partner office).
In order for the person being sent to qualify, he/she must have worked for the company abroad for at least one year and within a period of 3 years before the L-1 visa is issued. Employment periods in other offices in the corporate family anywhere outside of the USA may be included to reach the one-year period.
The employment activity must be such as to justify a transfer based on training, professional experience and knowledge of the field. Simple activities, even by trained employees with long professional experience, are not taken into account under L-1. One can differentiate roughly between employees with management capacity, such as managers and executives who can get an L-1A, and those with special/specialized knowledge, which fall under category L-1B.
Under leadership capability is usually understood the ability of the employee to make decisions with a wide margin of discretion without guidance from another person.
The idea of leadership ability as a general rule refers to the responsibility of the employee to oversee and check the work of professional employees and for example to supervise a department. It can also refer to the ability of the employee to be in charge of an essential function of the company at a high management level without direct control by others.
The L-1 is not dependent on the nationality of the sending company, in contrast to the E category. Employees with an appropriate work authorization such as a B or C can also receive an L-1.
Special case: new US office
Foreign employers who would like to send a qualified employee as executive or manager to the United States to establish a new US branch office/subsidiary must prove that:
the foreign company has rented or purchased sufficient corporate office space for the new office, bought office equipment and hired US personnel or is in the process of concluding employment contracts (simple statements of intent to hire personnel, proof of applications or job advertisements are not sufficient)
the employee must have worked within the three years before submitting the application for an unbroken period of one year as an executive or manager and
the planned branch office or subsidiary in the USA will establish an executive or management position in the company within a year after approval of the petition.
L-1A or L-1B holders who enter the United States to establish a new subsidiary are granted an initial staying permit of one year. In all other cases, with already established US offices, the L-1A visa holder received in general a 1 to 3 year staying permit, with the option of extending that to 5 or subsequently maximum 7 years (each time an application for extension is required).
After 3 years, L-1B holders can apply once for an extension of the staying permit to a maximum of 5 years. After reaching the maximum time a L-1A or L-1B holder must be outside of the USA for at least a year in order to be able to make an application again.
Formally the applications are made through the US branch/parent company or the foreign company for the employee.
After approval by the US immigration office the employee must come in person to an interview appointment at the US consulate to apply for his L-1 visa.
Family of the L-1 employee
The employee being transferred may be accompanied by his/her spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age. These family members can apply for an L-2 visa and usually receive the same length of stay as the worker being sent.
Spouses
Spouses of L-1 employees may apply for a work permit (EAD, or Employment Authorization Document) which is valid without restriction for gainful employment with US companies and foreign companies, as long as the L-1 status of the spouse remains valid. EAD holders can receive their own Social Security Card, which plays a very important role in the organization of family life in the USA.