L-1 Intracompany Transferee

Q: What is L-1 visa?

A: The L-1 non-immigrant category, also known as intracompany transferee visa, applies to aliens who work for a company with a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate in the U.S. These workers come to the U.S. as intracompany transferees who are coming temporarily to perform services either in a managerial or executive capacity (L-1A) or which entail specialized knowledge (L-1B) for a parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate of the same employer that employed the professional abroad.

Q: Who is qualified to be an L-1 employee?

A: Qualified L-1 employee must have been employed abroad for the corporation, firm, or other legal entity (or an affiliate or subsidiary thereof) on a full-time basis for at least one continuous year out of the last three-year period to qualify.

Q: Is there an annual cap on the number of L-1 visas?

A: No, unlike H-1B, there is currently no annual cap on L-1 visas.

Q: Does the employer need to file a Labor Condition Application (LCA) in L-1 petitions?

A: No, unlike H-1B, employer is not required to file LCA in L-1 petitions.

Q: Is the employer required to pay L-1 employees the prevailing wage?

A: No, the prevailing wage is not required for L-1 beneficiaries, but U.S. income must be sufficient to prevent the alien from becoming a public charge.

Q: Can L-1 beneficiaries bring their family members to the U.S.?

A: Yes, immediate family members (i.e., spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age) of L-1 workers are entitled to L-2 status with the same restrictions as the principal. Dependents may be students in the U.S. while remaining in L-2 status. Dependents also are allowed to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which allows them to work for any U.S. employer while remaining in L-2 status.

Q: What is a blanket L petition?

A: Employers who regularly file L petitions may file for a blanket L petition in order to obtain continuing approval for itself (and some or all of its parents, branches, subsidiaries and affiliates in the U.S.). This simplifies the process of approving and admitting additional individual L-1A and L-1B workers. After approval of a blanket petition, the petitioner may file for individual employees to enter as L-1 professionals under the blanket petition.