L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager.note¶
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L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
The L-1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign
offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an
affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one. The employer must file
a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker [ ], with fee, on behalf of the employee.
The following information describes some of the features and requirements of the L-1 nonimmigrant visa program.
General Qualifications of the Employer and Employee
To qualify for L-1 classification in this category, the employer must:
Doing business means the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and
does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.
To qualify, the named employee must also:
Executive capacity generally refers to the employee’s ability to make decisions of wide latitude without much oversight.
Managerial capacity generally refers to the ability of the employee to supervise and control the work of professional employees and to
manage the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization. It may also refer to the employee’s
ability to manage an essential function of the organization at a high level, without direct supervision of others. See section 101(a)(44)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, and 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii) for complete definitions.
New Offices
For foreign employers seeking to send an employee to the United States as an executive or manager to establish a new office, the
employer must also show that:
See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(v) for details.
Period of Stay
Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial stay of one year. All other
qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years. For all L-1A employees, requests for extension of stay may
be granted in increments of up to an additional two years, until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.
Family of L-1 Workers
The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by his or her spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of
age. Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same
period of stay as the employee.
Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status
If these family members are already in the United States and seeking change of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, they
may apply collectively, with fee, on an Form I-539, Application to Change/Extend Nonimmigrant Status, [].
Spouses
Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization [
] with fee. If approved, there is no specific restriction as to where the L-2 spouse may work.
http://www.uscis.gov/I-129
Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to
as qualifying organizations); and
Currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and in at least one other country directly or through a
qualifying organization for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1. While the business must be viable,
there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade.
Generally have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately
preceding his or her admission to the United States; and
Be seeking to enter the United States to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer
or one of its qualifying organizations.
The employer has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office;
The employee has been employed as an executive or manager for one continuous year in the three years preceding the filing of
the petition; and
The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.
http://www.uscis.gov/I-539
http://www.u
scis.gov/I-765
Blanket Petitions
Certain organizations may establish the required intracompany relationship in advance of filing individual L-1 petitions by filing a
blanket petition. Eligibility for blanket L certification may be established if:
The approval of a blanket L petition does not guarantee that an employee will be granted L-1A classification. It does, however, provide
the employer with the flexibility to transfer eligible employees to the United States quickly and with short notice without having to file an
individual petition with USCIS.
Where an L-1 visa is required
In most cases, once the blanket petition has been approved, the employer need only complete Form, I-129S,Nonimmigrant Petition
Based on Blanket L Petition [ ], and send it to the employee along with a copy of the blanket petition
Approval Notice and other required evidence, so that the employee may present it to a consular officer in connection with an
application for an L-1 visa.
Canadians with an approved blanket petition seeking L-1 classification
Canadian citizens, who are exempt from the L-1 visa requirement, may present the completed Form I-129S and supporting
documentation to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer at certain ports-of-entry on the United States-Canada land
border or at a United States pre-clearance/pre-flight inspection station in Canada, in connection with an application for admission to the
United States in L-1 status.
Please refer to CBP’s website [ ] for additional information and/or requirements for applying for admission into the
United States.
Optional filing of Form I-129S with USCIS
If the prospective L-1 employee is visa-exempt, the employer may file the Form I-129S and supporting documentation with the USCIS
Service Center that approved the blanket petition, instead of submitting the form and supporting documentation directly with CBP.
See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(4) and 8 CFR 214.2(l)(5) for more details regarding blanket petitions.
The petitioner and each of the qualifying organizations are engaged in commercial trade or services;
The petitioner has an office in the United States which has been doing business for one year or more;
The petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates; and
The petitioner along with the other qualifying organizations meet one of the following criteria:
Have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals during the previous 12-month period;
Have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or
Have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.
http://www.uscis.gov/I-129s
http://www.CBP.gov