Overseas companies that have or wish to establish U.S. offices may need to transfer executive, managerial, or specialized personnel to the U.S. The L-1 Visa (Intra-company Transferee) enables these key employees to be posted temporarily at the U.S. parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch office. The foreign professional must have worked for the foreign company for at least one year within the three years prior to coming to the U.S. in an executive, managerial, or specialized-knowledge capacity, and the U.S. position must also fit into one of those three categories. For a large, multinational company needing to transfer people frequently, a Blanket L-1 approval pre-qualifies the employer to bring in L-1 professionals relatively quickly. Closely related to the L1A classification is the Multinational Executive / Manager Transferee immigrant category. This category permits an employer to file for permanent residence (green card) under requirements that mirror the L1A requirements.

What We Can Do For You : At the Murthy Law Firm, we can consult with the employer and/or employee to determine whether the L-1 is suitable, considering the nature of the position, the company structure, the worker’s background as well as other factors. If it is not, we can suggest alternatives. We can advise you regarding the L-1 documentation requirements and legal matters, and we can prepare and submit paperwork to the USCIS. If applicable, we can also prepare and file applications for dependent family members. As needed, we can assist with applying for the L-1 and L-2 (dependent) visas at the consulate abroad.

Articles common to most types of Work Visas are available from the main page of this section. See also  H1B and Other Work Visas.

Note : Below are overviews and articles relevant to this section. For current
U.S. immigration news items, click NewsBrief and other links on the right.

L-1 & H1B Visas : A Comparison Posted Apr 11, 2003
The decrease of the H1B cap from 195,000 to 65,000 since October 1, 2003 has made it especially important to consider alternatives to the H1B program. The L-1 visa is often an attractive option for employers. Outline for our readers are the major differences and advantages of each of these classifications.

Overview : Blanket L-1 Petitions Posted Apr 12, 2002
The "blanket" L-1 is so called because it enables a petitioning multinational corporation to transfer managers, executives, and specialized-knowledge professionals to the U.S. on work assignments under a single, "blanket" petition. This article explains the benefits and limitations of this nonimmigrant option.

Overview of L-1 Visa Category Posted Mar 08, 2002
The L-1 visa category is for an intra-company transferee. The transferee is an employee of a company abroad who is to be transferred to a U.S. affiliate, parent, or subsidiary entity on a temporary work basis. This article explains the limitations and the benefits of this nonimmigrant visa.

Tips on International Travel Posted Nov 20, 2003
In this post-9/11 age of high security, it is important to remember that failure to attend to small details may cause big problems. When making travel plans, we caution MurthyDotCom readers to be mindful of some important matters.

Copyright © MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved