Corporate Immigration

L1B Intra-Company Transferee petitions and visas enable a company to expand business to the US and transfer its specialist employees. For information on transferring executives or managers, please see our L-1A section.

Greenwood Hanlon Kendrick act as immigration counsel for companies of all shapes and sizes across the world, providing bespoke advice and strategy. We are based internationally by the US Embassy in London to better serve our clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well those in Asia and Australasia. Contact us now for more information.

The L-1B nonimmigrant classification enables a US employer to transfer a professional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organizations interests 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 a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one.

General Qualifications of the Employer and Employee

To qualify for L-1 classification in this category, the employer must:

• 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.

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:

• 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 services in a specialized knowledge capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.

Specialized knowledge means either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organizations product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organizations processes and procedures.

L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004

The L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004 applies to all petitions filed on or after June 6, 2005, and is directed particularly to those filed on behalf of L-1B employees who will be stationed primarily at the worksite of an of an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate, subsidiary, or parent. In order for the employee to qualify for L-1B classification in this situation, the petitioning employer must show that:

• The employee will not be principally controlled or supervised by such an unaffiliated employer; and
• The work being provided by the employee is not considered to be labor for hire by such an unaffiliated employer.

New Offices

For foreign employers seeking to send an employee with specialized knowledge to the United States to be employed in a qualifying new office, the employer must show that:

• The employer has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office ; and
• The employer has the financial ability to compensate the employee and begin doing business in the United States.

L1 Visa “New Office” Business Plans

Writing a comprehensive business plan, demonstrating your new office L1B visa petition and application meets all of the requirements, often causes unnecessary anxiety. Seasoned investors, entrepreneurs, and business school graduates are used to writing business plans, but for very different audiences, and do not usually understand what a consular or immigration officer wants to see.

At Greenwood Hanlon Kendrick, we offer an unrivaled service. A well prepared and compliant business plan can make all the difference to your case. See our L1 visa business plan preparation service 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-1B 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 five 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.

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 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, collectively, 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.

In order to qualify under the blanket petitioning process, the employee having specialized knowledge must also be a professional.

Greenwood Hanlon Kendrick act as immigration counsel for companies of all shapes and sizes, and provides bespoke advice and strategy to meet your objectives.

As an alternative to the L-1B, certain multinationals may meet the nationality and ownership criteria of the E-1 and E-2 categories, and source employee visas through those classifications.