L1 Visas Under US Immigration Law FAQs

If you were originally admitted as a specialized knowledge employee in L-1B status, you can be promoted to a managerial position with the same employer. In this case where you are admitted on L-1 visa based on specialized knowledge and you are subsequently promoted to become a manager or executive you can change jobs on an L-1 visa. You can also change jobs from a manager or executive position to a specialized knowledge employee position. The other foreign entity/ies need not be in the L-1 employee’s home country.
If a company has fewer than 50 employees in the U.S., or if company’s combined total of H-1B and L-1 workers is less than 50 percent of its total U.S. workforce, this fee does not apply. A petitioner seeking initial approval of H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant status for a beneficiary, or seeking approval to employ an H-1B or L-1 nonimmigrant currently working for another petitioner, must submit a $500 Fraud Prevention and Detection fee. This definition can be difficult to apply in the case of first-line supervisors – that is, lower-management personnel who directly oversee non-management workers. A first-line supervisor is not normally considered a manager; but the opposite may be found if the employees being supervised are at a professional level. The meaning of professionalis a worker holding a university degree in a field related to his or her occupation. A manager coming to work for a U.S. office that has been in operation for at least one year may also qualify for a Green Card as a priority worker (EB1-C).
l1a interview questions must be involved with your case as a petitioner for the L1B visa. L-1B visa extension of stay can increase in two-year increments until you reach the limit of five years. However, the moment you choose to use your EAD to work, your L-1B status will be terminated. To continue staying and working in the U.S., you will need to file for and get an advance parole document to travel out and then re-enter the United States as a parolee. You will no longer be considered as an L-1 holder but rather a parolee. While an advance parole document gives you the eligibility to return to the U.S., it does not guarantee you will be admitted upon arrival at the border or airport.
It also allows for those employees to start new branches for their employers. Unlike H-1B visas, there is no annual cap for L-1 visas or a labor certification application. However, the employee is required to have been employed overseas for the company, corporation, firm, affiliate, subsidiary or other legal entity on a Full-time basis for at least one year out of the last three years to petition for a L-1 visa. The new office provision is designed for those offices which are, at the time of the filing, not fully established or able to support the services of a full-time manager or executive.
Blank immigration forms with written instructions are free to download at the website of USCIS. Foreigners who work for multinational businesses may qualify for either an L1A or an L1B visa. In case the employee is coming to open a new office in the U.S., there areadditional requirements. If the alien is already in the U.S. on some other work visa, such as H1B visa, for a few years, it may still be possible to get L1 visa from a qualifying employer, as one year out of three years is counted BEFORE the admission into the U.S.
Problems arise, however, because after obtaining the Blanket L visa at the Consulate and subsequently entering the U.S., applicants often receive multiple and conflicting statements that address when their L-1 status will expire. With both the L1 and H1B visas, candidates can apply for permanent resident status in the US through a green card, if they wish to do so. The L1 visa to Green Card process differs for the L1A visa and L1B visa. An L1B employee is only authorized to engage in employment for the petitioner. If he or she works “off-site,” the L1B employee must still be under the “control and supervision” of the petitioning organization and not of the unaffiliated organization. It will be important for the petitioner to compile evidence showing that the arrangement meets this requirement.
One of the useful features of the L1b visa is its “dual intent.” It means the program allows you to apply for permanent residency in the US without explaining the reason to the officials. The organization in the foreign country and the subsidiaries in the US must have annual sales of at least $25 million or have 1,000 employees or more in the US. After 8 – 14 months of filing your Form I-485, you can expect to receive your green card after completing the interview.
An L1B visa is issued initially for three years with one two-year extension for a maximum of five years stay. The L-1 visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa which allows companies to relocate qualified foreign employees to its U.S. subsidiary or parent company. The qualified employee must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of the company for at least one year out of the last three years. The U.S. company must be a parent company, child company, or sister company to the foreign company. The L-1 visa may also include non-profit, religious, or charitable organizations. US L1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows employers to transfer senior executives or managers from one branch in a foreign country to another one in the United States.
Meanwhile, the maximum period of stay for an L1B visa is five years. Additionally, USCIS will not deny your L1 visa if there is evidence to believe that you have intentions to permanently move to the United States. This means that you can be an “intending immigrant” to the United States under the L1 visa. Next, you may consider formulating an L1 visa business plan for the new office. Though it is not officially mandated by the USCIS, it is almost always necessary in securing approval for the new office.