Benefits of the L-1 Visa

The L-1 visa is available to foreign nationals who are seeking an intracompany transfer from a qualifying organization outside the United States to one within the U.S. L-1 beneficiaries must fall under one of two categories: managerial/executive (L-1A), or specialized knowledge (L-1B). Working closely with their clients, employment-based immigration attorneys prepare and file the necessary petition and supporting documents to obtain a decision from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If approved, the L-1 petition is valid for up to 3 years (1 year for transfers to a new office established in the U.S.), with extensions available in two-year increments up to 7 years maximum for L-1As and 5 years maximum for L-1Bs.

Once the L-1 petition is approved by USCIS, the original petition approval notice, known as an I-797A (for foreign nationals located in the U.S) or an I-797B (for foreign nationals located outside the U.S.), is mailed to the attorney of record for the employer. For individuals outside the U.S. at the time of petition approval, the original I-797B approval notice typically needs to be sent to the foreign national, who will present it to a U.S. consular officer at a scheduled L-1 visa appointment abroad and to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer upon arrival at a U.S. port of entry.

Benefits of the L-1 Visa Status

The L-1 visa status has several benefits that make it worthwhile both for large multinational companies and smaller organizations. Although the L-1 process is complex, it does not have the lottery component of the H-1B visa. With no annual cap on the number of L-1 petitions the USCIS can approve, gone is the concern of too many employers and foreign nationals vying for the same visa slots.

There is also a streamlined L-1 process for multinational companies known as the Blanket L. To be eligible, the U.S. petitioning company must

• have either 3 or more domestic or foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates;

• have an active U.S. office that has been operating for 1 year or more; and

• be engaged in commercial trade or services.

AND

• have combined U.S. annual sales of at least $25 million;

OR

• have a U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 U.S. employees;

OR

have obtained at least 10 L-1 petition approvals from USCIS during the previous 12-month period.

If a U.S. company meets the above-stated requirements, it can file a Blanket L petition with USCIS. Once the Blanket L petition is approved, USCIS issues a Blanket L petition approval notice that contains the names of all submitted domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates. Once that approval notice is issued and received, the foreign national candidate can schedule his or her Blanket L-1 visa appointment directly with the appropriate U.S. consulate abroad.  

With the Blanket L procedure, processing times are generally much faster because individual L-1 petition approval from USCIS is not prerequired. Rather, once the company’s Blanket L-1 petition is approved, the foreign national candidate simply schedules a Blanket L-1 visa appointment at the U.S. consulate. ImLaw concurrently prepares a Blanket L-1 package in required triplicate and sends it to the foreign national candidate abroad for review and presentation to the U.S. consulate at the scheduled Blanket L-1 visa appointment.   

The ImLaw team is well-versed in both traditional L-1 and Blanket L-1 cases and works with clients to determine whether the company and the candidate are a good fit for the L-1 category. Throughout the process, we will help you avoid the common pitfalls of the L visa process and ensure compliance with all legal requirements.

Interested in learning more about the L visa? Read about some of the L visa requirements here and contact our team with any questions.