L-1 签证

 INTRODUCTION

The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant work visa, which is suitable for multinational companies with commercial establishments in the United States and other nations to send senior managers, executives, or professional technicians with special knowledge from its non-USA parent company to work in the United States subsidiary. During the L-1 visa application process, the U.S. subsidiary is the applicant of the L-1 visa, and the foreign senior executive or professional technician is the beneficiary of the L-1 visa. According to the requirements of the USCIS, the applicant needs to prove the legal existence of the U.S. subsidiary and the non-USA parent company, the qualifying relationship between the U.S. subsidiary and its non-USA parent company, and the job duties of the beneficiary. The main advantages of L-1 visa are as follows:

1. The start-up capital is relatively small. The start-up capital of about 500,000 US dollars in the first year is usually sufficient;
2. The investment risk is small, since the funds are under the control of the shareholders of the company;
3. No wait time for the L-1 visa to become effective once the visa is approved. The beneficiary can land in the United States with the freshly approved L-1 visa;
4. Compared with the EB-5 investment immigration requirement to create at least 10 full-time jobs per investment, the L-1 visa does not have a minimum number of employees requirement;
5. The nature/qualifications of executives of multinational companies that associated with the L-1 visa can be used to further apply for an USA green card of EB-1C category. And the time to get a green card of EB-1C category while in L-1 is shorter. EB-1C green card could be obtained as fast as one and a half years;
6. L-1 visa is a great visa for the executives because it has much more smooth transition for the executives’ family members, no matter for spouse or kids: After the L-1 visa application is approved, the executive can enter and leave the United States freely without restriction on the length of stay in USA.  His/her spouse can legally work for any employers in the United States, and his/her children can also attend public schools in the United States without tuition charge. 

The basic requirements for applying for an L-1 visa are as follows:

• The parent company in a nation outside of USA and the subsidiary in the United States must comply with the Qualifying Relationship stipulated by immigration law, that is, the parent company must own majority shares of the subsidiary which must be or will be providing goods or services in a normal, systematic and continuous manner. Merely having an office in or outside the United States or having an agent will not satisfy the requirement;

• The beneficiary of the L-1 visa must have worked as a senior manager or executive in the parent company, subsidiary or affiliate company outside the United States for at least one consecutive year during the three years preceding the filing of the petition. Time spent working for the parent company in the U.S. and short-term business travel time for the parent company to the U.S. does not count as a one-year interruption of work, but does not count toward the one-year period outside USA for the parent company;

There are two types of L-1 visa: L-1A visa and L-1B visa. L-1A visa is for a senior manager or executive of a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign company; while L-1B visa is for a professional technician with special expertise for a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign company.

• The beneficiary of the L-1A visa must be assigned to a U.S. subsidiary as a senior manager or executive;
  • Senior manager management responsibilities (Managerial Capacity) mainly include:
    • Manage a corporate division, corporate function or corporate component;
    • Manage other supervisory departments, managers or technical personnel, or supervise, manage and/or control a necessary function within the company;
    • have the power of appointment and dismissal of the employees they manage and supervise, or the right to recommend personnel (in the case of employees they directly supervise), or to manage a core department within the organization;
    • In the day-to-day management, there is discretionary power.
  • The executive's decision-making responsibilities (Executive Capacity) mainly include:
    • Directs the management of the company, directing the management of a major department or function of the company;
    • Develops company or major divisional goals and policies;
    • Has a great deal of discretion in company decision-making;
    • Only accepts general supervision or guidance from the board of directors or shareholders meeting or higher-level decision-making personnel

• The beneficiary of the L-1B visa, i.e. a professional technician, needs to meet the following conditions:
  • has special knowledge of the parent company's products, services, research, equipment, technology, management, etc. and their use in international markets; or
  • Has a high-level understanding of the parent company's business, operations and procedures;
  • When it comes to special knowledge of the company's products, services, etc., the beneficiary must have knowledge that is hard to find in the U.S. labor market, not just skilled workers.

• If the parent company sends the L-1A beneficiary to the United States to establish a new subsidiary, that is, a company that has just been established in the United States, or a company that has been operating in the United States for less than a year, the applicant does not need to prove the US subsidiary's normal business activities, but it must be proved that the new company in USA has sufficient office space and is likely to carry out normal business activities within the next year.

The Advantages of the L-1 Visa Holders:

• Family members of L-1 visa holders can come to the United States in L-2 status and can legally work in the United States.
• Dependents (including spouse and children) of L-1 visa holders can use L-2 status to study in the United States and enjoy free education for local residents in the United States without having to re-apply for other student visas, such as F-1, etc...  And L-2 holders are not required to be full-time students. L-2 visa holders can attend public elementary, middle and high schools in the United States for free. If L-2 visa holders (including spouses and children under the age of 21) wish to attend college in the United States, there is no need to change status to apply for a student visa.
  • Please note: After the child reaches the age of 21, he can no longer use the L-2 status, and must switch to other legal non-immigrant status, such as H-1, F-1, etc.

• If the U.S. subsidiary has been officially operating for more than one year and has good business benefits, such as making profit or making sizable contributions to US economy, L-1 visa holders can apply for a green card through EB-1C visa category without the need for cumbersome labor application procedures, and without investment immigration (EB-5) like investing minimum of $800,000 dollars in the United States, and only get a conditional green card in the first two years. If the U.S. subsidiary has been established for more than one year and operates normally, the L-1 visa holder does not need to wait for a year and can directly submit an EB-1C application to obtain a green card.
  • Please note: In practice, during the green card application process, we still recommend that foreign dispatched employees apply for L-1 or L-1 extension first to maintain their legal status in the United States.

• The US immigration law has no specific regulations on the size of multinational companies applying for L-1 visas, the amount of investment , or the registered capital of the company.
• The non-USA parent company and the US subsidiary only need to maintain the ownership affiliation, there is no requirement to be in the same industry. In addition, it is also possible to buy a company in the United States without having to build a new one. As long as the non-USA parent company has a controlling stake in the US subsidiary, there is no need to purchase 100% of the equity.
• The non-USA parent company and its US subsidiary can operate in any type of industry.
• The L-1 visa does not have specific requirements on the number of employees of a US subsidiary as the EB-5 immigrant investor visa does.
• The beneficiary of the L-1 visa petition must have worked as a senior manager, executive officer (L-1A), or a person with special expertise (L-1B) for at least one consecutive year in the past three years. L-1 visa applications must demonstrate the beneficiary's ability to hold the position, but no specific requirements for degree, language, or work experience.
• The L-1 application and approval time is short. If it goes well, the visa can be successfully obtained even within three or four months. In addition, there is an option for expedited processing for approval, with results available within 15 days with a premium process provided by USCIS.
• L-1 visa holders can enter and leave the United States multiple times during the validity period of the visa.

Processing Time and Validity Period of L-1 Visa:

• Generally speaking, it takes 3-6 months for L-1 visa application to be approved. After approval by USCIS, the client can go to the consulate for visa or adjust status in the United States. If expedited processing is requested, USCIS charges an additional $2,500 premium processing fee, and results could be available within 15 days.
• For new companies, the first-time visa is usually valid for one year. After the one year validity period expires, it is necessary to apply for an extension. The single extension shall not exceed two years. The maximum validity period of the L-1A visa is 7 years, and the L-1B visa is 5 years. If the U.S. subsidiary has been established for more than one year, the L-1 visa period for a new application is not one year, but three years.
• 3-6 months of extension application process.