Helpful Tips for Successful L-1 Visa Application

L-1 visas are for foreign companies that wish to establish a subsidiary in the U.S. and send key employees to work in that new subsidiary. A key benefit of the L-1 visa is that it is a “dual intent” visa, meaning that an employee can simultaneously pursue permanent residency in the U.S. without having the intent to return to his or her home country.

There are two categories of L-1 visa: L-1A Manager/Executive and L-1B Specialized Knowledge. To qualify for either category, a worker must have been employed by a non-U.S. company for at least one continuous year out of the past three years.

The qualifications for an executive include:

• Direct the management of the company or a major division of the company;
• Determine the policies and goals of the company or a major division of the company;
• Have broad discretionary decision-making authority;
• Be supervised only by executives at a higher level, a Board of Directors or shareholders.

The qualifications for a manager include:

• Manage the entire company or a subdivision, department or function of the company;
• Supervise and control the work of other supervisors or professionals, or manage a department, function or subdivision;
• Have decision-making authority over hiring and firing employees;
• Have decision-making authority over the daily operations of a department, subdivision or function.

The qualifications for an employee with specialized knowledge include:

• Possess an in-depth understanding of the company and its products, services, processes and procedures that is not readily available in the U.S.;
• Possess truly specialized knowledge that is not widely held in the company’s industry.

Here are some rules for successfully obtaining an L-1 visa:

• Be sure the U.S. entity can support the first year of employee requirements as demonstrated by a multi-tiered organizational chart as supporting evidence.
• Provide proof that revenue projections are credible.
• Provide a detailed business plan that outlines business development for at least the first year.
• Detail the managerial job duties of the applicant and relate them to the applicant’s prior work history.
• Provide proof that the non-U.S. parent company is financially able to support the U.S. entity.
• Make sure that each employee managed by the applicant has the job experience commensurate with his or her titles.