L1A and L1B Visa Plans

Our L1 visa business plans are noted for their checklist inclusion of the documentation required by the USCIS for this category.  While we cannot provide all of this information, we can ensure that it is available so that we can use it in the plan.  Two of the most important things that the USCIS wants to validate is the managerial nature of the petitioner's job and their relationship with the parent company.  We do both and we use the VIBE form--which the USCIS will likely request in an RFE if it doesn't exist--to establish that the new business exists and to establish its relationship to the parent company.  These highly-detailed plans start at $1500.

The L1 Visa

Qualification

The L1 visa requires that the applicant have been employed outside the United States for one continuous year in the previous three years.  This position must be managerial, executive; or, must require the use of specialized knowledge.  The petitioner must be transferring to a position in the US for the same or a related company in a position that is managerial, executive or requires the use of specialized knowledge.    In order to qualify for the L1 visa the non-US employer and the prospective employer in the US must be related in one of  four ways allowed by the regulations.

• First Option: The two employers could be parent and subsidiary. It makes no difference which employer (US or non-US) is the parent and which the subsidiary.
• Second Option: One of the employers could be the branch office of the other. Again, the US employer may be either the headquarters or the branch office.
• Third Option: The businesses could be a sister companies—that is, they could be owned by a mutual parent.
• Fourth Option: The companies could be affiliates, both owned by the same person or by the same group of people.

In order to qualify for the L-1 visa, the applicant must show that the non-US business will continue to actively trade (to be ‘doing business,’ in the words of the regulation), either on its own or through a parent, subsidiary, branch, sister company or affiliate, during the applicant’s stay in L1 status.

Recent AAO Non-Precedent Decisions

Matter of 1-A-N-T-D-, Inc and Matter of D-P-, Inc are two of the many non-precedent decisions for L-1 petitions this year.  You can read more here.  The most important reason to read some or all of these decisions is that virtually all relate to one USCIS assessment:

In visa petition proceedings, it is the petitioner's burden to establish eligibility for the immigration benefit sought.

These AAO are not to discourage you from applying for an L-1 visa, they are to encourage you to get a business plan that is thorough and USCIS compliant so that you do not get an RFE in the first place.  Meeting the requirements that provide the burden of proof for an L-1 petitioner is essential.  That is what we do.   We cannot guarantee that you will not get an RFE but we can guarantee that our plans ensure that you are presenting the required information.  They are USCIS compliant.  As you read some of these decisions, learn what the pitfalls are because we can help you avoid them.

Matter of 1-A-N-T-D-, Inc., ID# 4409376 (AAO July 18, 2019) - L-1A
Matter of D-P-, Inc., ID# 5122351 (AAO July 29, 2019) - L-1A

Are you convinced that we can help you without reading the decisions?  Get in touch and we will help you with a business plan or an RFE.

L1A Classification

The L1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one. The L1A visa requires that the applicant be employed outside the United States for one continuous year in the previous three years in a managerial or executive position; and, that the applicant be transferring to managerial or executive position in the United States for the same or affiliated company. This visa, with extensions, allows for a maximum stay of seven years.

L1B Classification

The L1B 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 which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one. The L1B visa requires that the applicant be employed outside the United States for one continuous year in the previous three years in a position that requires specialized knowledge; and, be transferring to a position requiring specialized knowledge in the United States for the same or affiliated company. This visa, with extensions, allows for a maximum stay of five years.

USCIS L1 Resources

L1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager
L1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge
Update to Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) Program