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Your Guide to L-1 Visas |
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See how you and your family can successfully obtain a U.S. visa and learn how to avoid the problems! |
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What Can New World Solutions Do For You?
At New World Solutions we do not want you to fall into one of the common traps that prevent an immigrant from attaining a visa. Here at New World Solutions we can be your guide to take you along the journey to obtaining your visa. From your initial consultation we can provide you with impartial knowledge; pure facts of what visa options there are and which we feel would be the best for you to go with. We can ensure your business is a viable option to support your visa and perform full due diligence work. We will then offer you our professional services in completing all of your visa paperwork from the preliminary questionnaires through to writing professional business plans and finalising all the minor details in your application. Following the completion of your paperwork, we will file your visa application. If your application is denied due to a fault of our team here at New World Solutions, we guarantee you will receive a full refund of your money. You have nothing to lose, only professional guidance and valuable information to gain; see the link at the bottom of the page and we can begin processing your L-1 visa application today!
L-1 Intra– Company Transfer Visa Guide
An intra-company transfer visa, or L-1 visa is a temporary residence visa that enables an immigrant who, for at least one of the three years preceding application for a visa, has been working outside the U.S. as a manager, executive or person with specialised knowledge, and plans to transfer to a company in the U.S. This company must be a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of the immigrant’s non- U.S. employer. A requirement of the L-1 visa is that the non- U.S. company that employs the immigrant must remain in business while the immigrant is working in the U.S. In order for an immigrant to be granted a company transfer to work in the U.S., the non- U.S. employer will have to petition for the immigrant to be transferred. These petitions are usually approved within three to four months; then the immigrant can apply for a visa, which should be issues within several weeks. Accompanying spouse and children under 21 will be provided L-2 visas and be permitted to live in the U.S. once proof of family relationship is established. A spouse will also be eligible for a work permit under an L-2 visa.
Managers and executives with L-1 visas are eligible to live in the U.S. for three years initially, followed by two-year extensions; however, the maximum amount of stay is seven years. Specialists are also eligible to live in the U.S. for three years initially; however, their maximum stay is five years. As long as an immigrant files for an extension of his visa before the current visa expires, he can continue working for about eight months, during which the new visa should be issued. If an immigrant files for extension after his visa expires, he will have to stop working until the extension is granted. Despite the fact that an L-1 visa is temporary, an immigrant does not have to only intend to live temporarily in the United States; he can also have dual intent, which means that he can intend to live in the U.S. as long as a visa allows, but also intend to attain permanent status if an application for this is approved.
In determining if an L-1 visa is right for you, it is important to be aware of whether or not you fit the requirements of a manager, executive or specialist. To qualify as a manager it is not enough to hold the title of manager, but a manager’s primary role must be to manage and oversee other professional employees, not perform most of the day-to-day operations himself. To qualify as an executive it is necessary to be the person relied upon to set the goals and establish the direction of the company. While executive and manager’s duties often seem like they overlap, generally managers carry out the goals set by executives. To qualify as a person with specialised knowledge it is important to have advanced knowledge of the company’s products, services, and procedures; this knowledge should not be commonly found in the industry and should not be readily available in the U.S. Thus a person must have knowledge and expertise that is truly specialised and unique.
As immigrants can only be transferred into companies with related U.S. branches, subsidiaries, affiliates or joint venture partners, there are specific definitions for each of these for visa requirements. A branch is simply a different operating location of the same company. Therefore a person approved for L-1 employment in one branch should be able to switch to another branch in the U.S. without USCIS permission. A subsidiary means one company must own 50% or more of another company. For an L1 visa application based on an affiliate relationship, there are two methods of ownership. One involves a person or business entity that owns 50% of the non- U.S. company and 50% of the U.S. company. The second possible method of ownership is for the owners of the non- U.S. company to also own the U.S. company in the same percentages. In a situation where a large U.S. company has several branches, subsidiaries or affiliates outside the U.S., the company may obtain blanket L1 status, which would enable them to frequently transfer non- U.S. employees quickly and without a great amount of paperwork into their U.S. office base.
If an immigrant is not being transferred to an existing branch, but starting up a new branch for his company in the U.S., then it is also possible to use an L-1 visa. In starting up a U.S. branch it is necessary for an immigrant’s employer at his non U.S. company to petition for his transfer to the U.S. Before a visa is even granted it will be necessary that a physical premises for an office in the U.S. is already secured and proof of this acquisition is provided in the petition for an employee transfer. It is important to ensure that if the visa is denied, the employer is excused from the lease of the office in the U.S. In the petition it is also necessary to present documents which prove that within the first operating year, the U.S. branch will be able to support a management or executive position under the requirements of an L-1 visa. Thus the branch will need to have subordinates to deal with day - to - day running of the business. Finally, it will be necessary to prove that the non- U.S. company has sufficient funds to open and run a new branch in the U.S. The L-1 visa, under start up conditions, is only granted for a year. After a year if the branch can prove that it qualifies for the L-1 visa, through management or executive requirements and an approved business structure, then USCIS will decide the period of extension for an immigrant. The maximum stay for an immigrant on an L-1 visa, under the conditions of a start up branch, is five to seven years.
Here at New World Solutions we can guide you on the road to attaining your L-1 visa. See the link below to get started today! |