The article discusses important questions about change of L-1 employer or job while on an L-1 visa. Persons coming to the US on L-1 visa may be presented with the opportunity to get a job promotion or change jobs with the same company or another company. Faced with the prospects of a new job, you may wonder if you can change your employer on an L-1 visa and transfer to another company or even change jobs within the same company and stay with your current L-1 employer.
The L-1 visa is for multinational companies seeking to establish an office or expand their presence in the United States. The L-1 visa allows companies to employ qualifying managers, executives, and employees with specialized knowledge on a temporary basis at a related entity in the United States.
To qualify for L-1 visa, the managers, executives or specialized knowledge employees must have been employed abroad with the foreign related entity for 1-year in past 3 years prior to application. To learn more about all the L-1 visa requirements visit L-1 visa (L1-A & L-1B) and  L1 Visa for Canadians.
Can you change employer on L-1 visa?
Yes, you can change employer on an L-1 visa and transfer to another company as long as legal requirements are met.
In practice, with an L-1 visa it is possible to change the L-1 employer to another related company. Changing to an unrelated company is also possible. To qualify, you must have worked for a foreign branch, subsidiary, parent or affiliate of the unrelated company for 1 year in the last 3 years. In practice that means your choice is restricted only to companies that you have worked for in the past, provided they have offices in the US.
Changing employer on an L-1 visa is no easy task, unless the company you are transferring to is related to your current L-1 employer. The reason behind it is that in order to qualify for an L-1 visa, the US company must be an affiliate, branch, parent or subsidiary of a foreign company for which you worked abroad at least 1 year in the past 3 years.
L-1 Transfer Eligibility: Related vs. Unrelated Employers
If the company you plan on transferring to is related to your L-1 employer and has a qualifying relation with the foreign company, then you can change your employer on L-1 visa. If, however, the company is not related and has no qualifying corporate relationship, then you are out of luck and cannot change employer for L-1 visa purposes, unless your employment history can establish that you meet the 1-year foreign employment requirement and there is a qualifying corporate relation.
However, you cannot transfer to another company under the same L-1 visa. To change the L-1 employer and transfer to another company, you are required to have an L-1 petition approved for your new employment.
Before a foreign national can change employer on L-1 visa, the employer must obtain USCIS approval by filing an L-1 petition on Form I-129 with the “L” supplement. After USCIS approves the new employer’s L-1 petition filed on your behalf, you can transfer and start working for the other company.
Can I change jobs on an L-1 visa?
Yes, you can change jobs within the same company in the United States.
If you were originally admitted as a specialized knowledge employee in L-1B status, you can be promoted to a managerial position with the same employer. In this case where you are admitted on L-1 visa based on specialized knowledge and you are subsequently promoted to become a manager or executive you can change jobs on an L-1 visa. You can also change jobs from a manager or executive position to a specialized knowledge employee position.
Similarly, if your job duties change from those of a specialist to those of a manager or executive or vice versa, then the change may be considered a new position that requires USCIS approval. The company must notify USCIS of any significant changes in your employment.
To change jobs on an L-1 visa the employer must file an amended L-1 petition with USCIS on Form I-129 at the time the change occurs.
When the job changes from a specialized knowledge employee to a manager or executive, the amended L-1 petition must be generally filed at least 6 months prior to employee’s 5-year work anniversary.
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Our immigration lawyers in Miami, Florida USA can assist with preparing L-1 petitions involving new employment, change of an L-1 employer or job, placement of L-1 workers off-site or any other changes to previously approved L-1 employment.
We serve individuals and companies throughout the United States across all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
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