L-1 Nonimmigrant Visas
L-1 nonimmigrant status is an employer-specific, employment-authorized nonimmigrant status available to a foreign national employed abroad who seeks admission into the United States to work for a qualifying affiliate U.S. employer in either managerial/executive capacity (L-1A) or specialized knowledge capacity (L-1B). The L-1 foreign national is called an “intracompany transferee.”
Obtaining L-1 nonimmigrant status requires the U.S. employer to file an I-129 Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS adjudicates this petition, normally in two to three months, although the timeframe may be longer due to persistent backlogs. An L-1 petition may be adjudicated by premium processing for an additional fee of $1,000, which offers a 15 calendar-day turnaround. Upon approval, the prospective employee may apply for an L-1 visa at his or her respective U.S. consulate.
If the foreign national is already in the United States in a different status, he or she may file an application for a change of status at the same time the employer files the L-1 petition. Please note, however, that a change of status does not provide for the L-1 visa, which is necessary for re-entry to the United States. In many cases, an intracompany transferee is required to travel for business or personal reasons. If the foreign national obtains a change of status, and subsequently travels abroad, he or she will be required to apply for a visa at the U.S. consulate overseas. Moreover, the L-1 category requires that the foreign national have been employed abroad for the same or related employer for one full year within the three-year period immediately prior to the transfer, which often means that the prospective transferee is currently employed overseas at the time of filing for the L-1. For these reasons, it is often preferable for the foreign national to apply for the L-1 visa at the U.S. consulate overseas, rather than a change of status, once the L-1 petition is approved, and prior to beginning employment with the U.S. entity. Please note that the State Department requires an in-person interview to obtain an L-1 visa, and an appointment must be made with the appropriate U.S. consulate to make the visa application.
L-1 status is generally approved for an initial period of three years. However, if the U.S. employer is a start-up company, L-1 status is originally granted for only one year. The L-1A (manager/executive) can be extended up to a statutory limit of seven years; the L-1B (specialized knowledge) is limited to a total of five years. The employer is not obligated to retain the employee for the entire five- or seven-year period. Unless the parties contract otherwise, the employment relationship is “at will” and either party is free to terminate the relationship at any time. However, if the employee/employer relationship endures for the entire five-year or seven-year period, the foreign national must spend one year physically outside of the United States before regaining eligibility to apply for a new period of L-1 status.
Dependent family members (spouse and minor children) of an L-1 nonimmigrant are eligible to apply for L-2 derivative status. Spouses in L-2 status may apply for employment authorization after obtaining the L-2 status. Applications are processed in approximately 90 days. Children and spouses in L-2 status may also attend U.S. schools without changing to student status although a student in the derivative L status will not be granted practical training opportunities.
About Our Immigration Lawyer
Jennifer Varughese is the lead immigration lawyer at Livesay & Myers for L-1 and L-2 visas. Contact us to schedule your consultation with Ms. Varughese today.
