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If you are a working for a foreign company with a company located in the US as well, the L1 visa will allow you to work temporarily in the US for the US based company.
Your parent or foreign company will need to have a qualifying relationship with the US based company and be conducting international business.
Further, as the applicant, you are required to have worked for the parent company for one of the three years preceding the application.
The basic requirements for the L1 visa are that:
The US and Foreign company must be part of the same organization. The must be considered to be part of the same firm or corporation or must be related as:
Parent – Firm, corporation or legal entity which has subsidiaries
Branch – operating division or office of the same organization operating at a different location
Subsidiary – a firm, corporation or legal entity which is owned by the parent at least more than half and controls the entity
Affiliate – One of two subsidiaries of which are owned and controlled by a single parent company or individual or one of two legal entities owned and controlled by the same group of individuals who all have approximately equal ownership and control.
Executive Capacity – you primarily direct management, establish goals and policies, have broad decision making powers and may receive general supervision by higher level executives, board members or shareholders depending on the corporation
Managerial Capacity – you manage the organization, department or function, supervise the work of others, have the ability to hire and fire, have control over the day to day functionality of the organization
Specialized Knowledge – you possess knowledge of the company’s product/service or processes and procedures and are uniquely qualified to contribute to the Canadian company’s employment force based on previous success abroad and/or your prior experience with the employer
Either an Individual Petition or a Blanket Petition can be made for the L1 Visa. Like its namesake, Individual Petitions are for one employee. For companies that frequently request the transfer for knowledge between their foreign and US companies, a blanket petition can be made.
Blanket Petitions are for relatively large international employers engaged in commercial trade or services. This petition relieves the employer for constantly having to prove its relationship with the US company through multiple applications. Further, a blanket petition saves the employer from the time consuming process of filing at USCIS and instead can apply through a consular officer.
If you are successful in obtaining your L1 visa and are married or have dependent, unmarried children under the age of 21, they may be given L2 visas. This will allow them to accompany you to the US and will be valid as long as your L1 visa is valid.
The L2 visa is a non-work status visa which means that your accompanying family are not able to enter the neither US Labour Market nor work in the US and are considered visitors based on your status.
In order to qualify for the L1 Visa, an individual applicant will need:
If the applicant is an owner or major shareholder in the company, the petition must also include evidence of their services and that they are to be used for a temporary period of time and that they will exit the US upon completion of their intended duties.
If your parent company is interested in the transfer for knowledge to their US company, it is safe to say that your project is of importance to the success of your company. As such, L1 visas are very important to employers who are seeking to expand on their business. Akrami & Associates understands the important of your project and will help you achieve your business related goals in the US.
We will assist you:
For more information on L1 Visas, feel free to browse our vast collection of information on the subject or contact us directly at 1-877-622-8182 or 416 477 2570. You can also email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
