L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
L-1B Description
The L-1B nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer a professional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company that does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one. The employer must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker with fee, on behalf of the employee.
General Qualifications of the Employer and Employee
To qualify for L-1 classification in this category, the employer must:
- Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to as qualifying organizations); and
- Currently be, 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 beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1. While the business must be viable, there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade.
Doing business means the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.
To qualify, the named employee must also:
- Generally 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 services in a specialized knowledge capacity to a branch of the same employer or one of its qualifying organizations.
Specialized knowledge means either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures (See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(D)).
L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004
The L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004 applies to all petitions filed on or after June 6, 2005, and is directed particularly to those filed on behalf of L-1B employees who will be stationed primarily at the worksite of an of an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate, subsidiary, or parent. In order for the employee to qualify for L-1B classification in this situation, the petitioning employer must show that:
- The employee will not be principally controlled or supervised by such an unaffiliated employer; and
- The work being provided by the employee is not considered to be labor for hire by such an unaffiliated employer.
Opening a Qualified New Office in the U.S.
Period of Stay
Can Family of L-1 Workers Come to the U.S.?
The transferring employee may be accompanied or followed by their spouse and unmarried children who are under 21 years of age. Such family members may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification and, if approved, generally will be granted the same period of stay as the employee.
If these family members are already in the United States and seeking change of status to or extension of stay in L-2 classification, they may apply collectively, with fee, using Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Status.
Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with fee. If approved, there is no specific restriction as to where the L-2 spouse may work.
Form I-129 Pilot Program for Canadian L-1 Nonimmigrants
From April 30, 2018, to April 30, 2020, the California Service Center and the CBP Blaine, Washington, port of entry (POE) are participating in a joint agency pilot program for Canadian citizens seeking L-1 nonimmigrant status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Blanket Petitions
Certain organizations may establish the required intracompany relationship in advance of filing individual L-1 petitions by filing a blanket petition. Eligibility for blanket L certification may be established if:
- The petitioner and each of the qualifying organizations are engaged in commercial trade or services;
- The petitioner has an office in the United States which has been doing business for one year or more;
- The petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates; and
- The petitioner along with the other qualifying organizations, collectively, meet one of the following criteria:
- Have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals during the previous 12-month period;
- Have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or
- Have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.
The approval of a blanket L petition does not guarantee that an employee will be granted L-1B classification. It does, however, provide the employer with the flexibility to transfer eligible employees to the United States without having to file an individual petition with USCIS. In order to qualify under the blanket petitioning process, the employee having specialized knowledge must also be a professional.
Where an L-1 Visa is Required
In most cases, once the blanket petition has been approved, the employer need only complete a Form I-129S, Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition, and send it to the employee along with a copy of the blanket petition Approval Notice and other required evidence, so that the employee may present it to a U.S. consular officer in connection with an application for an L-1 visa.
Filing Multiple L-1 Intracompany Transferee Petitions Related to the Same Project
USCIS recognizes that businesses may need to temporarily move multiple employees to the United States for particular projects which require the employees’ specialized knowledge. In order to do this, employers may petition for their employees to obtain an L-1 nonimmigrant classification by filing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. While each L-1 petition must be considered on its own merits, USCIS will consider multiple applications grouped into “bundles” of L-1 petitions in order to streamline and improve the adjudication process.
In order for USCIS to consider the bundle, all included L-1B petitions must be related to employees:
- On the same project
- Who will work at the same location and
- Who have substancially the same specialized knowledge duties
USCIS will also consider petitions for L-1A managers included with the bundle, if they will be managing the L-1B beneficiaries who will be working on the project.
Filing Tips for Bundling L-1 Petitions
- Complete a separate Form I-129 for each employee.
- Include petitions in the bundle:
- From the same petitioner
- On behalf of beneficiaries employed at the same foreign entity who will be seeking initial L-1 status or an extension of L-1 status, and who will be working on the same project at the same location performing substanially the same specialized knowledge duties
- Filed under the same service (that is,either requesting all premium processing or non-premium processing);
- Of L-1A managers if they will be managing the L-1B beneficiaries who will be working on the project.
- Package each petition separately with its own fees and supporting evidence.
- Indicate the multiple related filings by, for example, including a cover sheet with information the petitioner believes may be useful to assist USCIS in processing the related filings as a bundle.
- If using a cover sheet, write, “L-1 Bundle” in large, bold print at the top of the cover sheet. Petitioners should list their name and the project’s name and location, and number each cover sheet included in the bundle (e.g., 1 of 10 petitions, 2 of 10 petitions, etc.).
- If USCIS is unable to determine whether a petition contained in the bundle is related to the same petitioner, project,location, or substanially the same specialized knowledge duties, USCIS will process the petition as if it were received individually.
Additional Tips for Bundling L-1 Petitions
- Petitioners can submit more than one bundle of L-1 petitions if there is more than one specialized knowledge occupation substantially related to a project. If petitioners are filing more than one bundle of petitions for beneficiaries who will be performing substantially different specialized knowledge duties for the same project, they should number each bundle (e.g., 1 of 3 bundles, 2 of 3 bundles, etc.) for ease of processing.
- Petitioners are reminded that they must include all required evidence (as well as Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, if applicable, and Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service) with each petition within the bundle. While petitions may be submitted as a bundle, each petition must be individually supported by the required evidence.
Canadians with an Approved Blanket Petition Seeking L-1 Classification
Canadian citizens, who are exempt from the L-1 visa requirement, may present the completed Form I-129S and supporting documentation to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer at certain POEs on the United States-Canada land border or at a United States pre-clearance/pre-flight inspection station in Canada, in connection with an application for admission to the United States in L-1 status.
Optional Filing of Form I-129S with USCIS
If the prospective L-1 employee is visa-exempt, the employer may file the Form I-129S and supporting documentation with the USCIS Service Center that approved the blanket petition, instead of submitting the form and supporting documentation directly with CBP.