L1 Visa Lawyer USA

Our experienced L1 visa lawyer in Miami, Florida USA can help you obtain an L1 visa regardless of your citizenship.

Our team can assist US companies, executives, managers, and specialized knowledge employees, as well as qualifying entrepreneurs and investors obtain an L1 visa. We also provide ongoing support to our clients once they have obtained their L1 visas, to ensure that they are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Specifically, our L1 visa lawyers can help you with:

• Assessing your eligibility for L-1 visa
• Determining which type of L-1 visa you are eligible for (L-1A or L-1B)
• Gathering and preparing the required documentation
• Filing the L-1 visa petition with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
• Representing you at USICIS and US Consulates
• Preparing you for your L-1 visa interview
• Advising you on your rights and obligations as an L-1 visa holder
• Assisting you with obtaining an L-2 visa for your spouse and children (if applicable)
• Providing ongoing support and guidance

“Our L1 visa lawyers in Miami, Florida USA, use their expertise to advise businesses on all aspects of business immigration, visas, daily operations and growth strategies.”

1. What is L1 visa?

The L1 visa allows US businesses to bring their executives, managers, and specialized knowledge employees from their foreign offices to their US offices. To learn more about the L1 visa and its requirements, visit our L-1 visa page.

Foreign businesses without a physical presence in the United States can use the L1 visa to relocate an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge employee to establish a new office.

To qualify for L1 visa for new office, foreign companies must first invest in setting up a related US entity and securing physical office space. Subsequently, they can transfer foreign employees to assume executive, managerial, or specialized role within the newly established office. This process also applies to investors or entrepreneurs who wish to expand their business to the United States. [8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(v)].

The L1 visa is divided into two main categories:

• L1A for executives and managers. L1A is for foreign citizens who are coming to the United States to work in a managerial or executive position.
• L1B for specialized knowledge employees. L1B is for foreign nationals who are temporarily coming to the United States to work in a position that requires specialized knowledge.

Specialized knowledge can be either:

• Special knowledge of the petitioning employer’s 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 employing organization’s processes or procedures.

2. What advice does an experienced L1 visa Lawyer give clients?

The L1 visa was originally created to help large corporations easily transfer their employees from overseas to the United States. However, our experienced L1 visa lawyer in Miami, Florida USA explains that the L1 visa is not just for large corporations.

Small and medium-sized companies can also use the L1 visa to transfer their executives, managers, and specialized knowledge employees to the United States, including the owners of such companies.

Small and medium-sized businesses should consider retaining an experienced L1 visa lawyer to navigate the application process, especially as these petitions undergo thorough scrutiny compared to those filed by large corporations.

To be eligible for L1 visa, the employer and employee must meet the following requirements:

• The employer must have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company
• The employer must be doing business in the US and at least one other country
• L1 visa applicant has worked for the foreign company for a continuous period of at least one year within the three years immediately preceding the filing of the L1 petition.
• L1 visa applicant will work in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity for the US employer.

3. What constitutes a qualifying relationship?  

For a US company to sponsor an L1 visa for an employee, there must be a qualifying relationship between the US employer and the foreign company. This means that the US employer and the foreign company must be either:

• Parent company and subsidiary: The US company is a subsidiary of the foreign company, or vice versa.
• Affiliated companies: The US company and the foreign company are both owned or controlled by the same parent company or individuals.
• Branches: The US company is a branch of the foreign company or the foreign company is a branch of a qualifying organization.

[CFR Section 214.2(l)]; 

Examples of qualifying relationships for L1 visa include:

• A US company that is a subsidiary of a Japanese company
• A US company and a Canadian company that are both owned by the same French company
• A US company and a Mexican company that are both branches of the same German company

If the US company and the foreign company do not have a qualifying relationship, the US company cannot apply for L1 visa for an employee.

In addition to having a qualifying relationship, the US company must also be actively doing business in the United States and in at least one other country, either directly or through a qualifying organization, and continue to do so during the employee’s stay in L1 status.

Doing business refers to regularly and continuously providing goods or services. Doing business does not include the mere presence of an office or an agent. 

Parent and subsidiary relationship

A parent-subsidiary relationship exists between the US and foreign companies when:

• One of the companies owns more than 50 percent of the other company, or
• Parent company owns 50 percent, directly or indirectly, of the entity that is a 50-50 joint venture and has equal control and veto power over the entity, or
• One of the companies owns 50 percent or less of the other company, but in fact controls that company

[8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(I)]

Affiliate

Our L1 visa lawyer explains that an affiliate relationship exists between the US and foreign company when:

• Both companies are subsidiaries of the same parent company or individual
• The two companies are owned and controlled by the same group of individuals, with each person owning and controlling approximately the same proportion of each company
• The two companies are multinational accounting firms

[8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(L)]

Branch

Our experienced L1 visa lawyer explain that if the foreign company has a branch in the United States, the branch office is considered to be an operating division of the same organization. In order to engage in business activities, the branch must be registered to do business in the United States or be authorized to operate in the foreign country. [8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(J)]

4. Who qualifies for L1 visa?

To qualify for an L1 visa, you must have been employed by a qualifying foreign organization in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge role for at least one continuous year within the three years before applying to transfer to the United States.

The continuous employment requirement is strict. However, brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure do not interrupt the continuous employment requirement.

If you visited the United States for business or pleasure while employed abroad, then those visits do not count as breaks in employment. However, these days spent in the United States do not count towards the one-year foreign employment requirement.

Furthermore, the continuous one-year employment requirement can be met at any time within the three years preceding the L1 visa application. You can be employed by a different company or in a non-managerial, non-executive, or non-specialized knowledge position at the time of application, provided that you met the employment requirement during the prior three years.

To meet the L1 visa continuous employment requirement, you must have been employed full-time. Working part-time for several years does not qualify as one year of full-time employment for the L1 visa.

5. What are the L1 visa new office requirements?  

To set up a new office and obtain an L1 visa, a company must meet the following requirements:

• Employer must secure sufficient physical premises to house the new office
• Employee worked abroad as executive or manager for one year within the three years immediately preceding the application, and
• The new office will support an executive or managerial position within one year of L1 approval

6. L1 Visa Duration and Extension 

The initial period of stay for L1 visa for new office is one year. All other qualified L1 visa holders receive a three-year initial period of stay.

Upon expiration of the initial period of stay, applicants can renew their L1 visa in two-year increments. The maximum duration of stay for an L1 visa holder is seven years for managers and executives, and five years for specialized knowledge employees. L1 visa holders can recapture any time spent outside the United States, potentially extending their overall period of stay.

Spouses and children of L1 visa holders are eligible for extensions that align with the L1 visa holder’s period of stay.

Applicants can file L1 visa extensions with USCIS up to six months before the initial L1 status expires. If the employer files a timely L1 visa extension, the employee has the right to work for an additional 240 days while the L1 extension is pending.

7. L1 Visa Benefits 

Applying for L1 visa has several benefits, including:

• Dual Intent. L1 visa is dual intent, which means that L1 visa holders can pursue a green card while maintain their L1 visa status.
• No PERM Labor Certification Required. Employers do not need to test the US labor market and obtain an approved PERM Labor Condition Application from the US Department of Labor (DOL) to sponsor a foreign employee for an L1 visa
• Establish a New Office. Foreign investors and entrepreneurs can establish new offices in the United States for their foreign companies
• Full-time Work. Employees work full-time in the United States for the sponsoring company
• Bring Family. L1 visa holders can bring their spouses and children under the age of 21 on L2 visas
• Automatic EAD for Spouses. Upon entering the United States, spouses of L1 visa holders are automatically authorized to work, eliminating the need for a work permit (EAD). Spouses can work part-time, full-time, or engage in self-employment.
• Spousal Education. Spouses of L1 visa holders are eligible to pursue education at both public and private US schools and universities
• Children Education. Children of L1 visa holders can attend US schools and universities full-time or part-time without a student visa, but are not authorized to work in the United States
• Unrestricted Travel. L1 visa holders, their spouses and children can travel outside the United States as many times as needed
• Travel during Green Card Process. L1 visa holders and their dependents can travel internationally while a green card petition is pending

8. Spouse and Children of L1 Visa Holders

Spouses and children of L1 visa holders can live and work in the United States on an L2 visa. Spouses are eligible to work in the United States without a work permit upon entering the country under L-2S status.

Children of L1 visa holders are eligible to attend school but they are not authorized to work in the United States.

9. L1 Visa Process 

To obtain an L1 visa, the US company must file form I-129 with USCIS together with all necessary documents to show compliance with L1 visa requirements.

If USCIS approves the petition, it issues a notice of action, which the employee can used to apply for an L1 visa at the US embassy or consulate abroad. If the employee is already in the United States, they can instead apply for a change of status with USCIS.

L1 visa processing times at USCIS depend on the service center handling the application, which is determined by the primary office location of the petitioning company. The USCIS California Service Center and Texas Service Center process L1 visa application. For example, companies with a primary office in Miami, Florida, must submit the L1 visa applications to the California Service Center.

The processing time for L1 visa is 1 to 2 months. USCIS also offers premium processing for L1 visa applications, guaranteeing a decision within 15 calendar days. Premium processing is available for an additional fee of $2,500.

Canadian citizens can apply for initial L1 visa directly at the US-Canada border. They can present the L1 application to CBP at designated ports-of-entry or at a pre-clearance/pre-flight inspection station in Canada.

Our experienced L1 visa lawyer can assist

We recognize that the L1 visa process can be intricate and time-consuming. However, our team is here to support you throughout the entire process and provide you with the best legal representation.

Navigating the L1 visa process can be daunting, but our experienced business immigration lawyers in Miami, Florida USA are here to guide you every step of the way. Contact us today or schedule a consultation.

Malescu Law P.A. – Business & Immigration Lawyers