L1-A and L1-B US Work Visas – Intra-Company Transfers

L1-A and L1-B U.S. work visas allow foreign companies to transfer key employees into the U.S. when expanding their business into the country. Whether you are a multinational, corporation or a small business, the L1-A and L1-B U.S. work visas allow you to move key employees and specially-skilled employees within the company. This program allows employees to receive a U.S. work visa and U.S. permanent residence (green card). Additionally, spouses of L1-A and L1-B work visas are now able to obtain U.S. work authorization so that they may work and contribute to their families as well as getting a US social security number which comes with many added benefits.

Requirements for Foreign Company

If you are a foreign company and would like to transfer employees into the U.S. under the L1-A and L1-B US Work Visas program, you must meet the following requirements:

1. Have an existing operating US company; or
2. Open a branch office or subsidiary in the U.S.;
3. Must have been operating in your country for at least one (1) year and must remain in operation at all times;
4. Must have an annual sales volume or gross revenue of over $500,000;
5. Must have at least five (5) employees on the payroll;
6. If you are a small business, you must include a preliminary business plan for your future activities in the U.S.
7. Employees being transferred to the U.S. must have worked for the company for at least one (1) year in the last three (3) years.

Who is eligible?

In order to be eligible for a U.S. work visa and U.S. permanent residence (green card), employees must have the proper training and qualification to be an asset to the company. The following people are eligible to be transferred to the U.S.:

1. Business Owners – Sole owner or shareholder serving as executive  capacity
2. Executives of the company – President and Vice Presidents
3. Managers – General Managers, Sales Managers, Production Managers, Quality Managers and Middle Management
4. Employees with Specialized Skills – Employees who have the required education and training along with three (3) years of experience or employees who have received the company’s specialized in-house training on processes and procedures relating to their products and/or services who are essential to the U.S. operations and can train future US employees.

Advantages

Having a U.S. branch office or subsidiary and transferring your key employees to the U.S. has many advantages. Among those advantages are:

1. Having direct access to the U.S. market along with all the rights and privileges given to other U.S. companies;
2. Transferring your employees to the U.S. allows them to be your eyes and ears. You can feel secure in the knowledge that your trained and qualified employees are running your U.S. company and also training other employees in the U.S. to work the way you want your employees to work and handling your business your way.
3. Your key employees and their spouses will be able to build a future for their selves and their families with the new regulations that allow spouses of L1-A and L1-B U.S. Work Visas to also obtain U.S. work authorization. They will also be happy to know that all L-1A transferees (managers and executives) and their dependents are given preference by U.S. Immigration for the purpose of permanent residence. Therefore, they do not have to compete with American workers in order to keep their jobs in the U.S. as they are considered to be essential to the success of the U.S. company. Workers in the L-1B category are required to show that their positions cannot be filled by Americans and must obtain approval from the U.S. Department of Labor in order to obtain their permanent residence (green card). This is only required for workers who are not in an executive or managerial position in the company and the process of obtaining permanent residence (green card) for these types of employees may take years. However, for those who are executives or managers, the process of permanent residence is much simpler for them and their families.