L-1B L-1B Intracompany Transferee Specialized Knowledge

At a Glance

Item	Details
Visa name	L-1B Intracompany Transferee
Purpose	Transfer specialized-knowledge employees
Initial stay	One or three years
Maximum stay	Five years total
Cost	Form I-129 fee required
Eligibility timing	One continuous year abroad
Work rights	Specialized-knowledge services only
Study	Not stated in the source
Medicare	Not stated in the source
Travel facility	Visa may be required
Citizenship pathway	Not stated in the source
Family sponsorship	Spouse and unmarried children under 21
Family work rights	L-2S spouses work incident to status
Visa record	Form I-94 documents status
Employer filing	Form I-129 required
Processing time	Not stated in the source

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Purpose

The L-1B classification lets a U.S. employer transfer an employee with specialized knowledge from an affiliated foreign office to a U.S. office.

It also allows a foreign company without an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized-knowledge employee to help establish one.

Eligibility

Employer requirements

The employer must:

• Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company: parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate.
• Be doing business, or will be doing business, in the United States and at least one other country throughout the employee’s L-1 stay.
• Be a viable business. International trade is not required.

“Doing business” means regularly, systematically, and continuously providing goods or services. Mere presence of an agent or office is insufficient.

Employee requirements

The employee must:

• Have worked for a qualifying organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years immediately before admission to the United States.
• Seek entry to provide services in a specialized-knowledge capacity for the same employer or a qualifying organization.

Specialized knowledge means special knowledge of the organization’s products, services, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and their international-market application. It may also mean advanced knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures.

Stay and Extensions

Situation	Initial stay
New office	Up to one year
Other L-1B employment	Up to three years

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

Employer Filing and Application

The employer must file Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with the required fee on the employee’s behalf.

New office petitions

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

• Sufficient physical premises for the new office; and
• Financial ability to compensate the employee and begin doing business in the United States.

Worksite Conditions

Special rules apply where the employee will primarily work at the site of an unaffiliated employer.

The petitioning employer must show that:

• The employee will not be principally controlled or supervised by the unaffiliated employer; and
• The work is not labor for hire for that unaffiliated employer.

Family Members

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

• A spouse; and
• Unmarried children under 21.

Eligible family members may seek L-2 status and generally receive the same stay period as the L-1B worker.

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

L-2 spouse employment

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

Employment authorization evidence may include:

• An unexpired Form I-94 showing L-2S status;
• An unexpired Form I-94 showing L-2 status with the USCIS admission-code notice;
• An unexpired Employment Authorization Document; or
• A facially expired EAD with evidence of automatic extension.

An L-2 spouse is not required to file Form I-765 for work authorization, but may file it to obtain an EAD.

Blanket L Petitions

Certain organizations may establish their qualifying intracompany relationship through a blanket petition.

The organization 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; and
• Meet one of these thresholds:
  • At least 10 L-1 approvals in the previous 12 months;
  • Combined U.S. annual sales of at least $25 million; or
  • At least 1,000 U.S. employees.

Blanket approval does not guarantee individual L-1B classification. Under the blanket process, the specialized-knowledge employee must also be a professional.

Blanket application process

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

• The completed Form I-129S;
• The blanket petition approval notice; and
• Required supporting evidence.

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

Canadian citizens are exempt from the L-1 visa requirement. They may present Form I-129S and supporting documents to a CBP officer at designated U.S.-Canada border ports or Canadian preclearance locations.

For visa-exempt employees, the employer may instead file Form I-129S and supporting documents with the USCIS service center that approved the blanket petition.