L-1 Visa
For Managers
L-1 Visa
The L-1 visa is one of the most powerful immigration options for people looking to reside and work in the United States of America. It facilitates foreign businesses to send some employees to the U.S. branch, parent, subsidiary, or affiliate firm in the US at least one year.
What is L-1 Visa?
People looking to work in the US more often can obtain an L-1 visa. This is a nonimmigrant visa for executives, managers, and specialized employees of an multinational company with a US office.
This visa is petitioned by the multinational company in place of its intracompany transferee staff. With this visa, an individual may live in the US for up to 7 years, based on a non-reciprocity schedule. L-1 Visa is a dual intent visa that means a transferred worker can apply for a Green Card while living in the United States.
How Does L-1 Visa Work?
L-1 Visa Requirements
- A qualifying association of the US Company and the foreign company.
- The employee must be involved in the executive, managerial, or specialized know-how capacity for the US Company.
- The transferred employee must have been constantly working full-time for the foreign company for at least 12 months within the past 3 years before filing the L-1 petition.
- The service with the foreign company must have been in specialized knowledge, executive, or managerial capacity.
Benefits of an L-1 Visa
Obtaining an L-1 visa provides an individual the right to live in the U.S. and work for his or her L-1 employer. This dual-intent visa makes people temporarily stay in the U.S. while simultaneously being willing to immigrate to the U.S. and become lawful permanent citizens in the coming time.
Another major benefit of an L-1 visa is that it doesn’t need that the US Company pays a specific wage. The US employer will need to obey the minimum state and federal wage laws. According to some visa categories, an applicant will be paid a wage matching your job profile (title) and position. There is no yearly limit to how many L-1 visas can be issued. The visa is eligible for premium processing, a service given by USCIS.
Obtaining an L-1 visa will make you, your spouse, and your children under 21 years eligible to go with you in the U.S. L2 status will be given to your life partner and children as your dependents. You can provide your children the US education in US schools. Moreover, your life partner can get employment authorization to work in the US.
Types of L-1 Visa
- L-1A Visa
If the worker will act as an executive or a manager while shifting to the US for starting a new US office or work in an existing US branch, the visa is known as an L-1A visa. The L-1A visa for executives and managers is applicable for 3 years, however, it can be extended for 7 years total. To qualify for this visa, executives and managers will have directing, supervisorial, policy-making, and decision-making skills.
- L-1B Visa
How much Does L-1 Visa Cost?
The fee applicable for an L-1 visa includes filing charges of approximately $460, detection & fraud preventing charges of $500, and other fees of $2,250 based on the situations. You will have to pay the additional charges if you would need premium processing and immigration counsel.
L-1 Visa Can Lead to a US Green Card!!!
The L-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa, does not directly lead to a green card because it is temporary. For transitioning from an L-1 visa to a Green Card, an applicant has to apply for and get approval for an immigrant visa classification. He or she can simultaneously intend to live in the US as a non-immigrant and seek the chance for a Green Card. This intent is known as dual intent. Approval for an immigrant petition via USCIS (I-130 or I-140) is essential. Or, an L-1 visa holder can apply for an immigrant visa (filing a Form DS-260 with the Department of State) or adjust status (filing a Form I-485 with USCIS). There is a complete process to apply for and get approved which can be discussed with our professional team.
