L Visa Category

The L nonimmigrant visa category is one of the most useful tools available to international companies needing to bring foreign employees to the United States. If a few basic requirements can be met, many advantages exist to using the L category. Note that under the 1990 Act, a new employment-based immigrant preference category was created for managers and executives who meet the L-1 standards for those employees. These aliens are considered "priority workers" in the first preference, which has 40,000 annual immigrant visas allotted to it.

Application Process

The U.S. employer must file a petition with the Immigration Service in order to obtain permission to transfer a foreign national for a temporary period. Once the petition is approved, the approved petition is sent to a U.S. consulate where the alien can obtain an L-1 visa to enter the United States. If the alien is already in the United States in a different nonimmigrant category, his or her status must be changed to the L-1 category.

Basic Requirements for Obtaining L-1 Visa Status

1. The Employee must have worked abroad for the overseas company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years.

2. The company for which the employee has worked for a year abroad must be the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate of the U.S. company.

3. The company must be a qualifying organization- One that is doing business in the United States and one other country during the entire period of the transfer.

4. The employee to be transferred must have been employed abroad in an “executive” or “managerial” position or a position involving “specialized knowledge”

5. The employee must be coming to the U.S. company to fill one of these capacities (executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge)

6. The employee must be qualified for the position by virtue of his or her prior education and experience