The L-1 program is suitable for everyone who has dreamed of working in the United States, but is not yet ready to immigrate. The requirements relate more to the employing company than to the visa applicant. Highly qualified personnel and managers who work in an international corporation have a chance of getting into the States with an L-1 visa if the employer and the immigration office approve their transfer to the American department. Please pay attention: applicants need to prove relevant work experience abroad, moving under the L-1 program is extremely difficult without having one.
The official website of the program
The L-1 visa is an employee's multi-year nonimmigrant visa. More than 100 thousand foreigners come to the States annually under this program. USCIS, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, regulates the issuance of visas of this and other types.
The program is designed for two categories of beneficiaries: qualified managers (managers / businessmen) and specialists with valuable knowledge. The first category opens an L-1A visa for one to three years with the right to extend it for up to seven years in total. The second category opens an L-1B visa for one to three years with the right of residence for up to five years.
After a long-term business trip to America, managers and professionals only need to live in another country for a year to get the L-1 visa again. If you need to obtain permanent resident status and stay to work in America, there is option of switching to an EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 immigration visa for especially valuable specialists.
The conditions of the L-1 program are relatively simple and convenient: the visa holder gets the right to work in the declared company, freely travel outside the United States without losing the status. The applicants may also take his wife / husband and minor children with them. Spouses of L-1 holders can obtain a work permit by completing the I-765 form, and children are eligible to attend an American school or college.
The main requirement is that the applicant must have worked for at least a year in the company's foreign office (not necessarily American) over the past three years. The rest of the criteria relate to confirmation of the effectiveness and international status of a company that transfers an employee to an existing or new office in the United States.
A feature of the L-1 program is that if the company is small or has existed not so long, a lot of supporting documents will be required (tax and accounting reports, other documents proving the effectiveness of the business). And vice versa: a well-known corporation with a good reputation can submit to the migration service a general petition for a group of employees and a minimum set of documents.
On April 22, 2020, Donald Trump signed a proclamation to suspend the entry of foreign workers from countries at risk because of the coronavirus outbreak. The issuance of new visas for categories H-1B, H-2B, J and L has been suspended until December 31, 2020.
The employer
The employee
Large companies may submit a blanket petition to USCIS for several employees at once, instead of an individual L-1 petition .
Commercial firms applying for a simplified procedure for filing the documents should firstly have an American office for more than a year, and secondly, three or more foreign branches should conduct business in different countries. The third condition is that the company should already have employed at least ten L-1 visa holders, or it must have subsidiaries or affiliates in the United States with annual sales of at least $ 25 million, or the american office should have 1,000+ employees.
The main applicant's spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 may move with the main applicant. They all receive an L-2 visa for the same duration as an L-1 visa applicant.
A servant (nanny, housekeeper, maid, housekeeper, etc.) of an L-1 visa holder can apply for a B-1 business visa and continue to work for the beneficiary in the United States.
State fees
If the applicant is abroad and submits documents through the consulate: the consular fee for filing an online application is $190 and an additional fee for issuing a multiple-entry visa for three years is $143.
If the applicant is already in the United States: $460 is the standard fee for processing an I-129 petition with USCIS; $1,440 expedited review process (15 days).
Legal expenses
The services of a lawyer who will accompany the process cost from $3,000. Additionally, you may need help in registering a legal entity and preparing a business plan if an office in the United States is only planned to be launched.
In most cases, all costs for obtaining the visa are covered by the employer.
The rights
The obligations
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