Q. What is L1 Visa
The United States L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa which allows companies
operating both in the US and abroad to transfer certain classes of employee from
its foreign operations to the US operations for up to seven years. The employee
must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of your US
company outside of the US for at least one year out of the last three years.
Companies operating in the US for at least one year, may apply to the relevant
INS service center for an L1 visa to transfer someone to the US from their
overseas operations. Employees in this category will, initially, be granted an
L1 visa for up to three years.
Q. Can my company make L1 visa applications?
Any organization which is 'doing business' (i.e. has more than simply an
agent or representative presence) in the United States can sponsor an L1 visa,
provided that the candidate qualifies in either L1A or L1B category, and that
the sponsoring organization continues to carries on doing business outside the
United States for the duration of the worker's L1 status. There is no
restriction on the types of business that can sponsor an L1 visa - corporations,
partnerships, government-owned entities and non-profit organizations are all
eligible. Nor is it a requirement that the sponsoring organization be United
States-owned or incorporated. It is, however, a requirement that there is some
equity or ownership link between the transferor organization and the transferee
organization in the United States.
Qualifying criteria:-
In order to sponsor an application for an L1 visa:-
-
A foreign parent must own at least 50% of a US subsidiary, and have veto powers
over the subsidiary's actions A US parent must own must own at least 50% of the
foreign subsidiary, and have veto powers over the subsidiary's actions
-
Affiliate US and foreign companies must each be at least 50% owned by the same
ultimate parent
-
A US organization with a branch office abroad qualifies, as does a foreign
organization with a US branch (though this must be more than simply an agent or
representative)
- A US organization which employs e.g. sales personnel overseas can sponsor such
employees for L1's even if there is no non-US office.
Note that the ownership requirements are not as strict in the case of vary large
corporations, where a substantial minority shareholding will be a qualifying
relationship. Does the candidate qualify for an L1 visa? All L1 employees must
have been employed by the company outside of the USA for at least one of the
three years preceding the transfer. It does not matter if the worker was
directly employed by the sponsor, or paid through an agency or personal service
company, or even on a freelance basis, provided the sponsor had management and
control over the worker during the qualifying year.
The employee must have been employed during the qualifying year as an executive,
manager, or specialized knowledge worker, though it permissible for a
specialized knowledge worker to come to the United States as a Manager or
Executive, and for a manager or executive to come as a specialized knowledge
worker, provided the US operation has been doing business for at least one year.
As noted previously, the 'standard of proof' for managers and executives is
quite strict - they must generally supervise other professional or managerial
staff and/or direct and control the day-to-day operations of a significant
function, unit or subdivision of the employer. Specialized knowledge workers,
however, qualify relatively easily - any employee with familiarity with the
employer's specific products, procedures or methods may qualify.
Q. Is there any limit on the number of L1 visas available in a year?
A. No.
Q. Can spouses and children of L1 visa-holders work in the USA?
A. Dependants are issued L2 visas, which are not employment authorised. In
order to engage in employment, L2 visa-holders would have to change or adjust
status to another employment-authorised category. L-2 holders can engage in
study.