General Eligibility Criteria for L-1 Visa Employers and Employees

To secure L-1 classification, both the sponsoring employer and the transferring employee must meet specific statutory and regulatory requirements.

Employer Requirements
The petitioning organization must:

• Maintain a qualifying corporate relationship with a foreign enterprise, which may be a parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate (collectively termed “qualifying organizations”).

• Be actively conducting business as an employer in both the United States and at least one other country either directly or through a qualifying organization for the entirety of the employee’s stay in L-1 status. This business activity must be legitimate, ongoing, and substantive, though it does not require direct participation in international trade.

• “Doing business” entails the continuous and systematic provision of goods and/or services, rather than merely holding an office or appointing an agent domestically or abroad.

Employee Requirements
The beneficiary must:

• Have been employed by a qualifying organization outside the United States for a continuous period of at least one year within the three years immediately preceding their U.S. admission.

• Seek entry to render services in an executive or managerial capacity for the U.S. branch or a related qualifying entity.

Executive capacity refers to the authority to make significant, high-level decisions with minimal oversight.
Managerial capacity involves directing and controlling the work of professional staff, overseeing an organization or department, or managing an essential function at a senior level without direct supervision.

L-1 Visa for Establishing a New Office

Foreign employers transferring an executive or manager to establish a new U.S. office must demonstrate:

• Acquisition of adequate physical premises for business operations.

• The transferee’s prior one-year continuous employment as an executive or manager within the past three years.

• A reasonable expectation that the new office will sustain an executive or managerial role within one year of petition approval.

Duration of Stay

• New office L-1 entrants: Initial stay of up to 1 year.

• Other qualifying L-1A employees: Initial stay of up to 3 years.

• Extensions: Granted in increments of up to 2 years, not to exceed a 7-year maximum for L-1A status.

Family Members of L-1 Holders

Eligible dependents spouses and unmarried children under 21 may accompany or join the principal L-1 visa holder under L-2 status. They generally receive the same period of authorized stay.

• Employment Authorization for Spouses: L-2S spouses are automatically authorized to work, with acceptable documentation including:

  • An unexpired Form I-94 marked with L-2S status;

  • An unexpired Form I-94 showing L-2 status with a USCIS-issued notice confirming L-2S designation;

  • A valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD); or

  • A facially expired EAD accompanied by proof of automatic extension.

Blanket Petitions for Streamlined Transfers

Certain large multinational corporations may obtain blanket L petition approval, allowing faster intra-company transfers without filing individual petitions for each employee. To qualify, the petitioner must:

• Operate in commercial trade or services.

• Maintain a U.S. office with at least one year of active business operations.

• Have three or more domestic and international branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates.

• Meet at least one of the following:

  • Ten or more L-1 approvals in the past 12 months;

  • U.S. affiliates with annual sales of $25 million or more; or

  • A U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 employees.

While blanket petition approval expedites processing, individual employees must still meet L-1A eligibility requirements.

Visa Requirements and Canadian Exemptions

For most foreign nationals, an approved blanket petition requires completion of Form I-129S and submission to a U.S. consular officer for L-1 visa issuance.

Canadian citizens, exempt from the L-1 visa requirement, may present Form I-129S and supporting evidence directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at designated ports of entry or pre-clearance locations in Canada.