L-1A Intracompany Transferee
The L-1A visa allows an executive and manager of an overseas firm to be transferred to a U.S. subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office for up to seven years. The employee must have worked abroad for the company for at least one year out of the prior three years in order to qualify for the visa.
The executive or manager should have supervisory responsibility for professional staff and/or for a key function, department or subdivision of the employer. The visa is issued initially for a three year period extendible in 2 year increments to a maximum of 7 years. On completing the maximum allowable period in L-1 status, the employee must be employed outside the United States for a minimum one year before a new application is made for L or H status.
The L-1A visa is a nonimmigrant visa, but many L-1A beneficiaries qualify eventually for a EB-1C visa leading to permanent residence. Unlike the E-2 visa, an L-1A visa holder need not demonstrate that he/she will return to the home country at the end of the visa term, and may even have a long-term immigrant intent while on the visa. The overseas business must continue exist, however, for the entire time the L-1A status in the U.S.
The sponsoring organization be United States-owned or incorporated. It is, however, a requirement that there is some equity or ownership link between the transferor organization and the transferee organization in the United States.
There are no investment funding or job creation requirements of the L-1A visa.
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