L-1 Visa - Work Visa For The USA

Contents on this page:

• Who is eligible for the L-1 visa?
• How long is the L-1 visa valid?
• What requirements must companies fulfil?
• What are the requirements for the L-1 visa applicant?
• All requirements must be fulfilled when submitting the petition
• Blanket Petition - When the petition for an L-1 visa is not applicable
• Family members and L-1 visa
• Our services on the L-1 visa

The L visa for opening a new office is valid for one year, or rather, it allows the holder to stay in the U.S. for one year, after which it must be extended. In the case of extensions or L visas applied for by companies already in business, a stay of up to three years may be granted. Extensions are possible for two years at a time.

An L visa cannot be extended indefinitely. Holders of an L-1A visa (managers, executives) can work in the U.S. for a maximum of seven years, while holders of an L-1B visa (employees with specialized knowledge) can work for no more than five years. It is not the length of time the visa has been held that counts, but the length of physical stay in the U.S. For commuters who divide their working time between the U.S. company and a group company outside the U.S., exceptions may apply, i.e. an extension beyond the five or seven years may be possible.

It should also be noted that the L visa is only valid in conjunction with a petition. It is entirely possible that a visa is issued for five years, but the petition is only valid for three years. In this case, you are only allowed to work in the U.S. for three years and would have to extend the petition before it expires, but without having to apply for a new visa.

When renewing a new office, the USCIS checks particularly strictly whether the company has established genuine business activities in the USA (staff, turnover, customer structure). If there is a lack of growth, renewals are more often rejected or only approved to a very limited extent.

In connection with visa issuance at the consulate, experience has shown that the appointment in Frankfurt takes 1–3 months after the petition has been approved. In individual cases, however, particularly in the case of security checks (“administrative processing”), visa issuance may be delayed by several months.

1. Relationship between the two companies involved

The first requirement is that the company based in the home country and the company established in the U.S. or the office to be opened have a qualifying relationship with each other.

Such a qualifying relationship exists, for example, if a dependent branch is established in the U.S. However, it can also exist if both companies are legally independent. The decisive factor here is that one company has a stake in the other and that one company effectively exercises control over the other. However, a majority stake is not mandatory.

Finally, a qualifying relationship for an L-1 visa also exists if both companies are owned and controlled by a third company or a natural person, for example, if they belong to the same sole proprietor.

The L-1 visa is therefore generally applicable to parent companies, subsidiaries, or sister companies.

2. Ongoing business activities in Germany

The home company must maintain its business activities while the employee is in the US. An L-1 visa is therefore not suitable for sole proprietors whose business at home is dormant while they are setting up a new business in the U.S.

3. Opening a new office in the U.S.

When sending an employee to open a new office, proof must be provided at the time of application that sufficient office space has been leased. The visa is initially issued for one year only.

For new offices, USCIS will regularly request a particularly detailed business plan, financial figures, and evidence of the viability of the model. Processing times for “new office” petitions are often longer than for established U.S. locations, as USCIS may request additional documentation (Request for Evidence – RFE).

The prerequisite for an L-1 visa is that the person to be transferred to the U.S. has either held a managerial position in the foreign company or has acquired and applied company-specific specialist knowledge. The position in the U.S. must also be a managerial position or require the application of specialist knowledge acquired abroad. However, the position in the U.S. and abroad does not have to be the same, i.e. someone with a managerial function abroad could also be employed in the U.S. with specialized knowledge, and vice versa.

In practice, the question of “specialized knowledge” regularly leads to longer processing times, as the USCIS strictly checks whether the knowledge is actually company-specific and cannot be found on the U.S. labor market. Cases that are not clearly documented receive RFEs at an above-average rate, which can prolong the process by several months.

1. Executive position

A person is considered to be in an executive position if they are responsible for managing the company or one of its departments, supervising other employees in senior positions, and having at least a say in the hiring and firing of other employees.

2. Specialized knowledge

Specialized knowledge that also qualifies for an L-1 visa may relate, for example, to the product range or the services offered by the company. However, an L-1 visa may also be considered for activities that require intimate knowledge of internal company processes. In such cases, however, it is essential that the knowledge required for the position is not available on the U.S. labor market.

3. Duration of employment and full-time employment

Last but not least, the employee who is to be sent to the U.S. must have been employed by the foreign company in a managerial position or with special knowledge for at least one year within three years prior to the application. It should also be noted that only full-time employment is eligible and that part-time employment, even if it extends over several years, is not sufficient under any circumstances.

It should be noted that all factual requirements that must be met in order for the petition to be approved must be in place at the time the petition is filed. If documents, evidence, or information are missing, USCIS will usually request them (request for evidence), but there is no possibility of fulfilling the additional requirements at a later date.

For example, if the U.S. company is established in one U.S. state but the applicant is to operate in another U.S. state, both the state permit must have been granted and an office must have been rented when the petition is submitted. If the rental agreement was forgotten, it can usually be submitted later. However, if you forgot to sign one, it won't help to quickly make up for it and send it after the petition has been received. A completely new petition would have to be submitted.

The USCIS issues RFEs in L-1 cases at an above-average rate. These extend the process by an average of 2-5 months. If a petition is denied, a completely new petition must be submitted, which restarts the entire timeline.

Consulate appointments after petition approval also vary: Frankfurt currently has wait times of about 2–4 months, sometimes significantly shorter for well-documented blanket cases.

Applying for an L-1 visa is quite a complex process. The U.S. employer must first submit a petition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with a wide range of documents. Only after the petition has been approved can the employee apply for the actual visa at the U.S. consulate.

However, companies that meet certain special requirements have the option of submitting a blanket petition. This means that the employees to be sent abroad only have to attend the appointment at the U.S. consulate. It is therefore no longer necessary to submit a petition in advance.

Although blanket petitions significantly speed up the processing time, it should be noted that the consulate still has full decision-making authority. In some cases, the consulate requests additional documents, which can delay the issuance of the visa. The average processing time for blanket cases (from the consulate appointment to the issuance of the visa) is usually between 1–3 weeks, but can take several months in the case of security checks (“221(g) administrative processing”).

A blanket petition is generally only available to U.S. companies that have been in business for at least one year and meet one of the following requirements:

• At least ten L-1 visas have been successfully applied for via the U.S. company (or U.S. group, if applicable) in the last twelve months (for managers, executives, or so-called specialized knowledge professionals, whereby only members of certain professional groups fall into the latter category; specialized knowledge alone is therefore not sufficient).
• The U.S. company or U.S.-based group company has annual sales of at least USD 25 million.
• The U.S. company or U.S. group employs at least 1,000 people in the U.S.

Once such a blanket petition has been approved by USCIS for the first time, additional employees (managers, executives, specialized knowledge professionals) can be sent to the U.S. without a petition having to be submitted for them in advance. A consulate appointment is sufficient.

Spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 can be issued an L-2 visa. However, only the spouse is allowed to work in the U.S., not the children.

Since the end of 2021, spouses of L-1 holders have benefited from a significant simplification: as soon as they are issued an I-94 with the addition “L-2S” upon entry or through a change of status in the U.S., they are automatically authorized to work. A separate work permit (EAD) is no longer required in these cases. The employment authorization arises directly from the residence status itself (“employment authorized incident to status”), so that L-2S spouses can work for any employer in the U.S. or become self-employed without having to submit any further applications.

This automatic work authorization applies exclusively to spouses. Children who receive an L-2 visa, typically designated “L-2Y,” sometimes still simply “L-2,” are not covered by this regulation and are still not permitted to work.

Since the system is relatively new, border officials occasionally issue an I-94 without the necessary “S” notation. In such cases, there is initially no work authorization. However, those affected can have their I-94 corrected by the CBP via a “deferred inspection” or re-enter the U.S. to obtain the correct classification. Only when the I-94 is actually marked “L-2S” may the person begin working. An EAD can still be applied for voluntarily, but from a legal perspective, it is no longer required for L-2S spouses.

These changes have significantly improved the situation for accompanying spouses, as the often months-long wait for an EAD card is no longer necessary. However, the prerequisite remains that the I-94 has been issued correctly, as only a proper “L-2S” leads to immediate work authorization.

Note: If you already know that an L-1 visa is the right visa for you and you therefore do not need a (fee-based) initial consultation, you can also commission us directly with the application for an L-1 visa!