Multinational companies may want to transfer employees from one country to another. The L-1 nonimmigrant visa may be a useful tool for facilitating the intracompany transfer of foreign-based employees to the United States on a temporary basis.
An L-1 visa is a type of temporary visa for workers who hold qualifying executive or managerial positions, or in some cases, have specialized knowledge.
Managers and executives transferring within the company from abroad can seek an L-1A visa. The individual must be continuing to serve in a managerial or executive capacity in the United States for a qualifying organization (e.g. U.S. subsidiary, parent company, or affiliate). The candidate must have worked at the qualifying organization abroad for at least one continuous year in the preceding 3 years.
For those employees who do not hold managerial or executive positions but possess specialized knowledge, an L-1B visa may be an appropriate classification. A specialized-knowledge employee must have an advanced level of expertise in his or her organization’s processes and procedures or special knowledge of the organization that is not readily available in the United States labor market. This does not include merely skilled workers.
Our experienced attorneys are available to assist you in securing an L-1 visa to transfer a foreign employee to the United States, and are available to answer any questions or concerns you may have.
This information is not intended to constitute legal advice nor does it create an attorney-client relationship between Law Offices of Robert P. Gaffney and anyone else. This information is not intended to be used as a substitute for specific legal advice based on an individual or organization’s particular facts and circumstances, and it should not be considered as such.
