This preference is reserved for business investors who invest in a new commercial enterprise that employs at least 10 full-time U.S. workers.
Project Details
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 that 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.
However, the business owner must submit a feasibility study to the competent authority in the United States for review – usually within 3-6 months depending on the ability and writing of the study. We are Americans working with Vietnamese Americans in the United States and Vietnam, and have helped many companies in Vietnam establish L-1A very successfully!
General Qualifications of the Employer and Employee
1. 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:
- 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 petition’s approval.
2. Period of Stay
Qualified employees entering the United States to establish a new office will be allowed a maximum initial one-year stay. All other qualified employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of three years. For all L-1A employees, requests for extended stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two years until the employee has reached the maximum limit of seven years.
3. Family of L-1 Workers
The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by their spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Spouses and children may seek admission in the L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee.
If these family members are already in the United States and seeking changes of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, please call us at toll-free number 1(800) 969-4560 or click here to contact us.
Spouses of L-1 workers in valid L-2S nonimmigrant status are considered employment authorized incident to status. DHS-issued evidence of such employment authorization that is acceptable for completion of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, includes:
- An unexpired Form I-94 with a notation reflecting L-2S nonimmigrant status. As of Jan. 30, 2022, USCIS and CBP began issuing Forms I-94 with a new admission code for spouses of L-1 workers: L-2S. An unexpired Form I-94 reflecting this new code is acceptable as evidence of employment authorization for L spouses under List C of Form I-9;
- An unexpired Form I-94 with a notation reflecting L-2 nonimmigrant status and a notice from USCIS regarding the new admission code. USCIS will send L spouses with a Form I-94 issued by USCIS before Jan. 30, 2022, that was notated with L-2 nonimmigrant status, a notice regarding the new admission code that, together with an unexpired Form I-94 reflecting L-2 nonimmigrant status, serves as evidence of employment authorization for such spouses under List C of Form I-9. For more information, click here to contact us.;
- An unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD). L spouses are not required to request employment authorization by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. However, with a fee, they may still file Form I-765 to obtain an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766 or EAD). EADs are acceptable evidence of both identity and employment authorization under List A of Form I-9; or
- A facially expired EAD with additional documentation to show the EAD is automatically extended.
4. Blanket Petitions
Specific organizations may establish the required intracompany relationship before filing individual L-1 petitions by a blanket petition. Eligibility for blanket L certification may be established if:
- The petitioner and each of the qualifying organizations are engaged in commercial trade or services;
- The petitioner has an office in the United States that 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, meets 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. workforce of at least 1,000 employees.
Approving a blanket L petition does not guarantee that an employee will be granted L-1A classification. However, it allows the employer to transfer eligible employees to the United States quickly and with short notice without having to file an individual petition with USCIS.
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