The L‑1 Intracompany Transferee visa is for the transfer of foreign employees to the U.S. within an international group of companies. The L-1A visa is specifically for managers and executives and the L-1B visa is for specialized knowledge employees. To qualify for the L‑1 visa, the U.S. company and the overseas company must be related by at least 50% common ownership and/or control.

The employee must be transferring to a properly related U.S. company from an overseas company. Also, the applicant must have been employed in an executive, managerial or specialized knowledge capacity with the overseas company for at least 12 months and must be transferring to the U.S. company to serve in one of these specified capacities. 

As mentioned, the L-1 applicant must have been employed by the overseas entity in a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge capacity for at least one (1) year. This employment must have taken place within the preceding three (3) years prior to the transfer and any time spent in the U.S. prior to the transfer does not count toward (but does not interrupt) the required one (1) year of employment.

The following definitions of executive and managerial capacity and specialized knowledge are critical to eligibility for this visa:

The L-1 petition process usually requires filing an I-129 Nonimmigrant Worker Petition with the appropriate USCIS Service Center. With the I-129, documents must be submitted to substantiate that the company has the qualifying corporate relationship and the employee meets qualification for L‑1 status. Processing times vary depending upon the Service’s caseload, but it generally takes several months for a petition to be adjudicated. For petitioners seeking an expedited adjudication, premium 15-day processing may be requested for an additional fee of $1225.00.

Upon approval, if the applicant is outside the U.S., s/he can then apply for an L-1 visa at the appropriate U.S. Consulate. If the applicant is in the U.S. (either in another valid visa status or seeking an extension of status), an approval notice showing the change or extension of nonimmigrant status would be issued. 

An individual may not remain in the U.S. in L-1A status for more than an aggregate period of 7 years or in L-1B status for more than an aggregate period of 5 years. An L-1 petition can be approved for a maximum initial period of stay of 3 years, and an extension of stay may be
authorized in increments of no more than 2 years.

Family members of L visa holders (specifically spouses and children under age 21) may be granted L-2 dependent visas to accompany the worker to the U.S. While dependent children are not eligible to work in the U.S. pursuant to this status, L-2 dependent spouses are eligible to apply for work authorization once they arrive in the U.S.

There are a few exceptions to the I-129 petition filing procedures for individual L-1 applicants:

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