Need to Transfer an Employee or an office to the U.S.? L-1 visa

Businesses often see the need to transfer employees between offices because, let’s be honest, not all employees are created equal. Sometimes it’s just necessary for an executive or manager to be moved to another office because their skill and expertise is the only thing that can bring that office to its full potential. Other times there’s an employee with such specialized knowledge that he or she is the only one who can fill a position, and thus needs to be transferred. The L-1 visa classification is ideal when this transfer needs to happen between offices of a US company or between qualifying organizations, one of which is a US employer. Our full-service immigration law firm specializes in the L1 category and has assisted in facilitating the transfer of numerous employees by making the acquisition of an L1 visa quick and efficient for our clients. Contact our office and speak with one of our talented immigration attorneys today.

The L1 is split into two distinct categories, the L-1A and the L-1B. The L-1A covers executives and managers while the L-1B covers transferees with specialized knowledge. The general criteria are far and wide the same for both classifications, with small divergences in initial period of stay and the nature of employment and the criteria of historical employment. Speak with an immigration lawyer from our office to learn more about the qualifications and how we can help you draft your petition to best display your qualifications so you or your employee will be approved.

The US employer and foreign employer must have a qualifying relationship, meaning that one must be a parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of the other.

The employer must also be doing business in the United States and at least one other country either directly or through a qualifying organization and must do so for the entire time the employee stays in the US as an individual with an L1 visa. Talk with our office for help in demonstrating that you as an employer meet all the necessary requirements. After many years of helping clients petition successfully, our immigration attorneys will be among the first to tell you that presentation is everything.

The employee must have been employed for the employer or a qualifying organization for one full year in the three years prior to his or her admission to the United States. L-1A applicants must be entering the US to be employed and provide service as an executive or manager, just as L-1B applicants must be entering the US to be employed in positions based on their specialized knowledge. Our Los Angeles immigration attorneys and Encino immigration attorneys know exactly what a good petition looks like and exactly what needs to be done to a bad petition to make it likely to be approved. No matter your standing or whether you feel you qualify, contact our office and schedule an appointment as it is likely there is an immigration option available to you.

Both L-1 visa categories allow transferees to enter the United States for the express purpose of establishing a new office. These transferees are multitalented individuals as they can not only perform their service but oversee the establishment of an entire new office that maintains a qualifying relationship with the foreign employer. These new offices must operate as US employers, as well as meet a range of other qualification which our immigration lawyers can detail for you throughout the course of our professional relationship.

Contact our office at your earliest convenience. At this point, you’ve learned enough to know you have a lot to learn and that you can’t do this alone. So why not get the best help you can? Contact our firm of Los Angeles immigration attorneys and Encino immigration attorneys and give yourself the best chance for the best future.

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