L-1 Intra-Company Transferees

Many of our inquirers and existing clients are entering or have already entered the United States to work for the same company or a parent, affiliate or subsidiary. These individuals may utilize the preferred L-1 status. In order to facilitate international economic development, the L-1 category was created to allow foreign companies to temporarily transfer, with ease, executives and managers (" L-1A") and technical personnel having "specialized knowledge" (" L -1B") to affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States. For those executives and managers who are already in L-1A status may qualify for permanent residence under the employment-based first preference immigrant category. For a specific discussion of permanent residence for multinational executives and managers, please contact a qualified immigration attorney.

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L-1A Extensions

L-1A stay can be extended up to 7 years and L-1B stays up to 5 years in total. Contrary to the popular belief, the initial approval of L-1 petition does not assure the approval of its extensions. L-1 extensions can be denied on several grounds. If the US office is relatively young, the company will have to show it is in the process of carrying out the original business plan, is a real operating business, and continues to require the expertise of the L-1 personnel. If the US office is more established, the continued reliance on the foreign national, as opposed to US workers, may be questioned. In all circumstances, the legitimacy of the U.S. operation and the qualifying role of the L -1 personnel must be proven for successful extension. It should be also noted that the USCIS has at times launched an investigation into the US operation and revoked approved petition if the real situation was found inconsistent with the petition.

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L-2 -- L1-A Dependents

L-2 dependents are permitted to attend school but not able to seek employment. However, President Bush signed a new law, which will eventually, once all the regulations have been promulgated, allow spousal employment through EAD processing.

These are general guidelines only. If you wish to discuss your eligibility as a petitioner or beneficiary under this category, please e-mail the individual's detailed resume with a brief description of the employer to heller@greencard1.com.

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L-1A Alternative Option to E-2 or EB5

Although big multinational companies more frequently use the intra-company transferee category, much smaller operations may utilize this category to set up a US entity and transfer its executive or manager. As long as the foreign entity still exists, the new investor in a US entity may want to use this category to transfer himself rather than using E-2 or the immigrant investor category because the L-1A visa can easily transfer to an Immigrant visa.

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New Office

Where the foreign company does not have a pre-existing subsidiary or affiliate operating in the United States, employees may be transferred to the United States under L-1 status for the purpose of opening a new office. At this point, the new office is obviously not required to show real operation beyond viable plan and financial support from the foreign company. However, the initial approval period of such a case will be limited to one-year, after which additional evidence will have to be filed to evidence the U.S. office's continuing need for such employee.