L-1A Visa for Intracompany Transfers of Executives or Managers
The L1A visa is a nonimmigrant visa for foreign executives or managers being transferred to their company’s U.S. offices. “Nonimmigrant” means that the visa does lead directly towards Permanent Residence, but it is still special because it is one of the only visas that also carries dual intent, which means that you are allowed to both intend to return to your home country after a couple of years or to remain permanently in the U.S. if the petitioning company decides that your presence in the U.S. is required to maintain the objectives of the company. The L-1 visa also allows employers to bring foreign employees to the U.S. with the purpose of establishing a new U.S. branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of their organization.
How does it work?
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The petitioning company may apply for the L1A visa for a foreign employee if able to prove that the employee is entering the U.S. to serve in executive or managerial capacity. To qualify for the L1A visa, the employee must meet certain requirements that define the executive or managerial role, and the petitioning U.S. employer must include a complete list of duties and responsibilities of the role when submitting the petition.
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L-1A managers and executives are expected to be responsible in the organizing, planning, directing, and controlling of major functions in an organization and enforce these roles through other employees under their direction.
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Through the L-1A Visa, a well-established foreign company with active operations can transfer one of its owners (shareholders), employees, executives, or managers, with the objective of establishing or expanding a subsidiary or affiliate within the United States.
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The parent company abroad has to demonstrate that the person to be transferred has sufficient experience for the proposed position in the U.S. and that they have been working for the parent company for at least 1 year in the 3 years prior to the submission of the transfer request.
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The parent company must also demonstrate that the individual has supervised and will continue to supervise in the future in the U.S. at least one professional, which is defined as anyone with a bachelor's degree or a minimum of 10 years of experience in whichever role they are in.
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YOU MAY BE THINKING, IF I AM THE OWNER OF MY COMPANY, WILL IT BE POSSIBLE TO TRANSFER MYSELF TO THE UNITED STATES? AND THE ANSWER IS YES.
THE L1A VISA IS AN EXCELLENT OPTION FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO ESTABLISH A SUBSIDIARY IN THE US OR FOR THOSE WHO CAN SECURE THEIR TRANSFER THROUGH A MULTINATIONAL EMPLOYER THAT ALREADY HAS AN ESTABLISHED SUBSIDIARY IN THE UNITED STATES.
Who is the L-1A visa ideally for?
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This visa is an excellent option for those who wish to establish a subsidiary in the US or for those who can secure their transfer through a multinational employer that already has an established subsidiary in the United States. L1A is an attractive option because it allows the individual and their spouse to be in the country with authorization to work and for their children to attend public school while the residency is applied for. The residence process can be long and requesting residence within the country with tourist status, for example, leaves the individual without work authorization for 4 to 7 months from the date the case is filed. For those who ultimately do not seek residency, the L1A allows them the freedom to travel and stay in the country for months and years at a time without problems and without having to be a US resident or lose citizenship of their country of origin.
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What is our role in the development of your case?
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In an effort to better position your process for approval, our office will help you develop all the necessary documents for your case. We are experienced in these matters and there are many creative solutions to help you qualify for this visa category. In preparation to present the L1A petition, we also work with you to develop a business plan that will provide the government with context of how your business and its documents meet the requirements of the law, so that our office can then present a strong legal argument of how you qualify. with the necessary criteria.
Please note that you will not need originals of any documents - immigration accepts scanned copies and photographs of everything. Also, once hired, we discuss the development of evidence for your case and the scope of the business plan. This business plan is created by a third-party company that costs approximately $ 1,800 to $ 2,500, and we will be with you throughout that process if you choose to hire the company, we refer you to or one you find. If you don't have a suitable resume, we also help you create one for you because we know what the government is looking for.
The list of documents we provide detailing what is needed for these types of cases is not exhaustive of what may be necessary or may be presented depending on the particular circumstances of your case. If you are unsure of how to obtain or create certain documents, we also work with several companies that we can recommend for professional services in matters such as insurance, acquiring business licenses, real estate, creating business plans, international asset management, international taxes and both corporate and personal accounting.
L-1A Visa with G.E.B. Global
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As an attorney and officer of the court, we attorneys have access to government documents and court decisions that are not readily available to the public, which can provide clearer guidance for the Officer to decide the feasibility of your case. You can trust our office to position your case for the greatest chances of success within the law and can assure you that we are using the most up-to-date legal mechanisms and case law to discuss and/or defend the merits of your case. G.E.B. GLOBAL has extensive experience preparing petitions in this category and will work with you to achieve a positive outcome.
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You may send us your resume or a summary of your professional profile for a free preliminary evaluation. We will carefully review your credentials and provide you with our opinion on the viability of your case.
