Philadelphia L Visa Lawyer
Businesses that function both in the United States and in their home country gain unique benefits. An L-1 visa can work for both multinational companies with a well-established U.S. office, and newly registered U.S. start-ups. This visa allows for global companies to transfer their foreign employees to their U.S. offices. This visa also enables foreign entrepreneurs who own businesses abroad to transfer themselves as executives or managers, and develop their business in the United States.
The L-1 visa is referred to as the ‘intra-company transferee’ visa. It comes in the following categories:
- L-1A visas for executives and managers;
- L-1B visas for personnel with specialized knowledge.
A transferred employee’s spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 are allowed to join him in the U.S. under L-2 status. A spouse in L-2 visa status can apply for an unlimited work authorization in the U.S. Children are not allowed to work under L-2 visa status, but can attend school or college. Servants may be eligible for a B-1 visitor visa with work authorization.
The Philadelphia Immigration Lawyers at The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C., successfully obtained L-1 visas for transferred executives and specialized knowledge employees of well-known multinational companies, as well as assisting newly registered U.S. start-ups with their L-1 visa needs. For example, our of-counsel attorney recently obtained L-1 visa approvals for the following clients:
- Conditional 1-year L-1A transferred executive visa and subsequent 2-year extension for a CEO of a social media start-up based in San Francisco, California;
- 3-year L-1A transferred manager visa and subsequent green card for a business manager of an established software development company with offices in Silicon Valley, California and Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine.
- Conditional 1-year L1A transferred manager visa and subsequent 2-year extension for a General Manager of a business consulting start-up company
- Conditional 1-year L1A transferred manager visa for a small family-owned daycare company
Only those companies that exactly meet the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) definitions of a parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate qualify to petition for an L-1 intra-company transferee visa. These definitions are very exacting and require an analysis of both the foreign and U.S. ownership of the related companies. Both the foreign and U.S. related companies must be doing business for the full duration of the L-1 employee’s working time in the U.S.
L Visa Lawyer Philadelphia
L-1 Visa for a New U.S. Start-Up
L-1 visa can be an excellent option for newly registered U.S. start-ups and foreign entrepreneurs who would like to expand their business into the U.S. market and transfer themselves as executives or managers. There are legal provisions to allow a new office to open in the U.S. and its executives and transferred employees to obtain L-1 visas, provided that evidence is submitted to USCIS to prove that the new office has a suitable physical location in which to do business, a qualifying business structure with a foreign related entity exists, a viable business plan is in place, and the employer has the financial ability to pay the employee and to begin incurring business expenses and doing business in the U.S. The Philadelphia Lawyers at The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C., can assist you with documenting your L-1 start-up visa petition and professional business plan preparation.
Which Employees Qualify as L-1 Intracompany Transferees?
The L-1 visa enables the transfer of managers, executives, and specialized knowledge personnel. The definition of manager includes an employee who manages an essential function of the business within an organization. An executive directs the management of the organization, establishes its goals and policies, exercises wide latitude in discretionary decisions, and receives only general supervision from the organization’s owners. Specialized knowledge employees need to have special knowledge of the organization’s products, services, research, equipment, management, or other interests, and its application in international markets, or an advanced knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures. Classifying the employee in the correct category is important, particularly if the company might later sponsor the employee for permanent residence.
To obtain an L-1 visa, you must be able to prove that you have continuously worked for the affiliated non-U.S. company for at least one full year within the three years preceding the time of your application for admission into the U.S. on L-1 visa.
How Long Can L-1 Visa Holders Remain in the United States?
If your U.S. company has been doing business in the U.S. for more than 1 year, you are eligible to apply for a 3-year L-1 visa. If your U.S. company has been doing business less than 1 year, you will be able to apply for a 1-year conditional L-1 visa by submitting a detailed business plan for your U.S. start-up operation and availability of investment funds for initial business expenses. In the end of your first year on L-1 visa, assuming your U.S. start-up company continues to do business and can afford to employ its L-1 employee, we can assist you to file for 2-year L-1 visa extensions.
A Green Card for L-1A Visa Holders
Please note that L-1A visa holders, transferred executives and managers, might have an option to apply for greed cards for themselves and their family members after working on L-1A visa for 1 year.
This content was written on behalf of Greg Prosmushkin.