WORK IN U.S. (L-1)

What is the L-1 Visa Program?

The L-1 Visa is a temporary visa for foreign intra-company transferees. In other words, the L-1 Visa is used to help international companies transfer their executives and highly skilled managers to work in their United States subsidiaries. Foreign companies are given the opportunity to establish a new company in the United States or develop an existing company in the United States and transfer their executives or highly skilled managers.

• There are 2 types of L1 Visas: the L-1A Visa for highly skilled managers and executives; the L-1B Visa for highly skilled experts.

Who qualifies for an L-1 Visa?

Most qualified applicants for the L-1 Visa are:

• Executives such as CEO, CFO, COO, CTO, CMO, and other executives in the parent company.
• Senior Managers such as General Manager/Director, etc.
• Experts employed in the parent company who perform a specific work with unique skills/knowledge.

What are the requirements for an L-1 Visa?

The main general requirements for the L-1 Visa include:

• The applicant must be an executive, senior manager or an expert.
• The applicant works at least for three years as an executive or manager in the parent company.
• The parent company wants to expand its business in the United States.

What are the differences between the L-1 Visa and the H-1B Visa?

There are fundamental differences between the L-1 and the H-1B Visa other than the fact that the H-1B has a quota per year. The main dissimilarities include:

1. For L-1 Visa, there is no prevailing wage requirement like there is with the H-1B visa.
2. Foreign nationals can apply for the L-1 Visa at any time of the year. There is no quota
3. The L-1 Visa is also a great option for overseas small or startup companies looking to expand their businesses to the U. S. under the new office L1 provision. The new office L-1 provision allows a foreign companies to open up a new U. S. subsidiary affiliate or branch office of the foreign entity and begin working for that entity for one year initially, plus three two-year extensions thereafter, for a maximum of seven years.

How long does it take to apply until I have an L-1 Visa?

In total, it takes 6 to 8 months until you receive the L-1 Visa.

If I buy real estate before the time of submitting L1A visa, then can I sell it to my own company in the name of investment?

Yes, you can sell it to your own company in the name of investment. Because you can own real estate while you are abroad, you are not dependent on the L-1 visa. The money resold to the company will be counted as money to run the company in the United States.

If I have a job in my country, do I need to live in the US continuously?

If you have a job in your country, you still need to visit the US once every 6 months.

What type of assets are counted as revenues for the company?

The assets are counted as revenues for the company when you open company in USA, buy and sell house.

The maximum years for the L-1 Visa is 7 years, how can I apply for green card?

In order to apply for the green card, you will need to apply for the EB-1C program.

After getting the US green card, how long will I need to wait until I receive the US citizenship?

According to the US citizenship application, you will need to live in the US for 5 years (more than 180 days a year) to be able to apply for the US citizenship.

If I need to transfer money, what are some of the legal methods?

There are 2 legal methods that you can use to transfer money:

• License to transfer money abroad (if required by local authorities).
• Using a money transfer service.