L-1A Visa Lawyer, Boston MA
L-1A visa attorney / L-1B visa attorney, Dayna Lally, assists United States companies in preparing L-1 petitions on behalf of intracompany managers and executives as well as intracompany transferees with specialized knowledge.
L-1 Attorneys
An EB1C/I-129 visa lawyer prepares EB1C and I-129 petitions to request classification of a foreign worker as an intracompany manager or executive or as an intracompany transferee with specialized knowledge.
Common L-1A/L-1B topics of inquiry include:
- One-year continuous employment abroad;
- Managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge position abroad;
- Beneficiaryâs prior education, training, and employment abroad;
- Qualifying organizational relationships between:
- Parent and subsidiary;
- Affiliates; and/or
- Joint ventures
- Proposed managerial or executive position in the United States;
- Specialized knowledge; and
- Ownership and control of qualifying entities.
Overview: What is an L-1 Visa?
âL-1 visas are nonimmigrant visas for foreign nationals who want to come to the United States temporarily to perform services in a managerial or executive capacity for the same employer that employed the foreign national abroad (or the parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of the foreign employer) in a capacity that was managerial or executive in nature for at least one continuous year within the last three years.
Eligibility
A United States employer may obtain L-1 classification for a foreign worker, if the employer:
- Has a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate); and
- Currently is, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and in at least one other country, directly or through a qualifying organization, for the duration of the foreign workerâs stay in the United States in L-1 status.
AÂ foreign company that does not yet have an affiliated office in the United States may obtain L-1 classification for a foreign worker, if the employer:
- Has secured sufficient physical premises to house the new office; and
- Demonstrates that the intended office in the United States will support an executive or managerial position within one year of the approval of the petition.
To qualify for L-1 classification, the foreign worker must:
- Have been working for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately preceding his or her admission to the United States; and
- Be seeking to enter the United States to provide service in an executive or managerial capacity for a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
What constitutes a qualifying organization is a complex subject. Contact Lally Immigration Services, LLC to inquire further.
Required Documents
L-1 visa petitions must include:
- Existence of the qualifying relationship between the U.S. and foreign employer based on ownership and control;
- That the foreign workerâs employment abroad for one year was in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity; and
- A description of the proposed job duties and qualifications; and
- Evidence showing that the proposed employment is in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity.
L-1 workers coming to the United States to open, or to be employed in, a new office in the United States, must submit additional documentation.
L-1 petitions may be rejected or denied for failure to submit required evidence or supporting documents. All required evidence should be submitted with the initial petition.
Petition Process
Employer files Form I-129 along with the following:
- Existence of the qualifying relationship between the U.S. and foreign employer based on ownership and control;
- That the foreign workerâs employment abroad for one year was in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity; and
- A description of the proposed job duties and qualifications; and
- Evidence showing that the proposed employment is in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity.
L-1 workers coming to the United States to open, or to be employed in, a new office in the United States, must submit additional documentation.
Costs
L-1 visa costs vary depending on size of the petitioning employer as well as the employerâs dependency on foreign workers.
L-1 visa costs may include:
- $460 â Form I-129 Filing Fee;
- $500 – Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee;
- $4,500 – Pub. L. 114-113 Fee;
- $2,500 â Form I-907 Premium Processing Filing Fee; and/or
- $190 â Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fee.
Processing Time
L-1 visas are processed at varying speeds depending on a variety of circumstances. Visit the USCIS Processing Times website for the most up-to-date information.
Validity Period
L-1 petitions may be approved for up to three years, unless it is a ânew office,â in which case the initial stay is limited to one year. Â
The maximum period of stay in the United States in L-1A status is seven years. The maximum period of stay in the United States in L-1B status is five years.
Time spent outside of the United States during the five-/seven-year period does not count toward the five-/seven-year maximum and can be added back/recaptured.
L-2 dependents are also subject to the five-/seven-year maximum in L-2 status.
Extensions
L-1 status may be extended in increments of up to an additional two years, until the employee has reached the maximum limit of five or seven years.
L-1 workers who remain in the United States longer than authorized may be barred from returning and/or may be removed (deported) from the United States.
Family Members
Spouses and children accompanying L-1 intracompany workers are eligible for admission in L-2 status.
L2 dependent spouses may apply for work authorization by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with fee.Â
Requests for Evidence
L-1 requests for evidence (âRFEâ) are becoming increasingly more common.
L-1 RFEs typically revolve around the following topics:
- Qualifying Relationship;
- Ownership and Control of the Foreign Employer;
- Ownership and Control of the U.S. Entity;
- âDoing Businessâ;
- Beneficiary Requirements;
- One-Year Employment Abroad;
- Managerial, Executive, or Specialized Knowledge Position Abroad;
- Foreign Position Primarily Managerial;
- Foreign Position Primarily Executive;
- Evidence of Specialized Knowledge Position in the United States;
- Off-Site Work with an Unaffiliated Employer; and/or
- Control and Supervision.
Last Reviewed/Updated: 05/21/2021
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