L-1A L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	L-1A Intracompany Transferee
Purpose	Transfer executives or managers
Initial stay	One or three years
Maximum stay	Seven years
Cost	Form I-129 fee required
Eligibility timing	One year abroad in three
Work rights	Executive or managerial employment
Study	Not stated in the source
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Travel facility	Visa generally required
Citizenship	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Spouse and unmarried children under 21
Visa record	Form I-94 documents status
Employer petition	Form I-129 required
L-2 spouse work	Authorized incident to status

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Purpose

L-1A allows a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from an affiliated foreign office to a U.S. office. It also allows a foreign company to send an executive or manager to establish an affiliated U.S. office.

The U.S. employer files Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with the required fee.

Eligibility

Employer requirements

The employer must:

• Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company: parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate.
• Be doing business in the United States and at least one other country for the worker’s L-1 stay.
• Continue doing business through the qualifying organization during the stay.

“Doing business” means regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods or services. Mere presence of an agent or office is insufficient. International trade is not required.

Employee requirements

The employee generally must:

• Have worked abroad for a qualifying organization for one continuous year within the three years before admission to the United States.
• Enter to work in an executive or managerial capacity for the same employer, branch, or qualifying organization.

An executive generally makes decisions with wide latitude and little oversight. A manager generally supervises and controls professional employees or manages an organization, department, subdivision, function, or essential component.

New Offices

For a new U.S. office, the employer must show:

• Sufficient physical premises for the office.
• The employee worked as an executive or manager for one continuous year during the three years before filing.
• The intended U.S. office will support an executive or managerial position within one year after petition approval.

Stay and Extensions

Situation	Maximum initial stay
New office	One year
Existing office	Three years

Extensions may be granted in increments of up to two years. The maximum total L-1A stay is seven years.

Family Members

The L-1A worker may be accompanied or followed by:

• A spouse; and
• Unmarried children under 21.

Family members may apply for L-2 status and generally receive the same stay period as the L-1A worker.

Family members in the United States seeking L-2 change of status or extension may apply together using Form I-539, with fee.

L-2 spouse employment

A spouse in valid L-2S status is employment authorized incident to status.

Acceptable employment-authorisation evidence may include:

• An unexpired Form I-94 showing L-2S status.
• An unexpired Form I-94 showing L-2 plus USCIS notice regarding the L-2S admission code.
• An unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
• A facially expired EAD with documentation showing automatic extension.

An L spouse is not required to file Form I-765 for employment authorization, but may file it with fee to obtain an EAD.

Blanket Petitions

Eligible organizations may establish their intracompany relationship in advance through a blanket L petition.

The petitioner and qualifying organizations must:

• Engage in commercial trade or services.
• Have operated a U.S. office for at least one year.
• Have at least three domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates.
• Meet one of these thresholds:
  • At least 10 L-1 approvals in the prior 12 months;
  • Combined annual U.S. subsidiary or affiliate sales of at least $25 million; or
  • A U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 employees.

Blanket approval does not guarantee L-1A classification for an employee.

Applying Under a Blanket Petition

Where an L-1 visa is required, the employer generally completes Form I-129S and provides the employee with:

• Completed Form I-129S;
• Blanket petition Approval Notice; and
• Required supporting evidence.

The employee presents these materials to a consular officer for the L-1 visa application.

Canadian citizens are exempt from the L-1 visa requirement. With an approved blanket petition, they may present Form I-129S and supporting documents to a CBP officer at certain U.S.-Canada border ports or Canadian preclearance/pre-flight inspection stations.

A visa-exempt employer may alternatively file Form I-129S and supporting documentation with the USCIS service center that approved the blanket petition.