You will also need to apply for a different visa status if you switch employers. Many times, USCIS will respond to your petition with a Request for Evidence , requiring you to explain parts of your petition in more detail or provide additional documentation. These requests must be adequately responded to in a timely manner or your petition will be denied. Visas issued pursuant to an approved Blanket Petition are normally issued within one week and may be issued for a validity period of no more than three years. A beneficiary admitted under an approved blanket petition may be reassigned to any organization listed in the approved petition during the authorized stay, providing the job duties remain virtually the same. Employees under an L-1 visa are also allowed to bring their spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age to the U.S. under an L-2 classification for the same period of stay as the primary employee.
L-1B employees may also be utilized to help start a new office in the United States if their specialized knowledge is essential to doing so. In such cases, the L-1B employee’s initial stay is limited to a maximum of 1 year. Spouses of L-1B workers now automatically have unrestricted work authorization ‘incident to status’ without needing to apply to USCIS for any employment authorization document. Proof of that work authorization will be placed in the spouse’s I-94 when USCIS implements new notations, until that time, spouses should still apply for an employment authorization document .
L-1B are designed for professional employees with specialized knowledge. An example of specialized knowledge personnel would be an individual who possesses proprietary knowledge about a company’s product and who travels to the U.S. to impart his or her specialized knowledge to new U.S. employees. In addition, companies who currently do not have an office in the United States can use the L-1B visa to send over an employee with specialized knowledge to help establish one.
In cases involving individual petitions, the requirements of INA 214 related to third party worksites have been examined by a USCIS adjudicator during the petition process. Therefore, you must not re-adjudicate this issue, but do attempt to confirm that the facts in the petition are true during the visa interview. Remember USCIS interacts solely with the petitioner; the interview is the first point during the petition-based visa process where a USG representative can interact with the beneficiary of the petition. Additionally, you benefit from cultural and local knowledge that adjudicators at USCIS may not possess, making it easier to spot misrepresentation. 8 CFR 214.2 requires a qualifying organization to demonstrate its ongoing international nature. The L classification was not created for self-employed persons to enter the United States to continue self-employment , nor was the L classification intended to accommodate the complete relocation of foreign businesses to the United States.
The petition shall be in such form and contain such information as the Attorney General shall prescribe. The approval of such a petition shall not, of itself, be construed as establishing that the alien is a nonimmigrant. For purposes of this subsection with respect to nonimmigrants described in section 1101 of this title, the term “appropriate agencies of Government” means the Department of Labor and includes the Department of Agriculture. The provisions of section 1188 of this title shall apply to the question of importing any alien as a nonimmigrant under section 1101 of this title.
The company must have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company, such as a parent company, branch office, subsidiary, or affiliate of the foreign company. These are collectively referred to as qualifying entities or qualifying organizations. The entities may include corporations, non-profits, religious or charitable organizations. l1a visa requires the person to have been in a position that involves specialized knowledge or is primarily managerial or executive during their 1-year continuous full-time employment overseas. The job position in the United States does not necessarily need to be the same job position held overseas.
This Comment explores how the transition to open source platforms will affect the L-1B visa program. This Comment predicts that it will make it even more difficult for multinational IT companies to obtain L-1B approvals and argues that USCIS will need to adopt a new way of analyzing IT worker applications in order to keep up with the industry. In the alternative, this Comment recommends the creation of a new visa category specifically tailored to the changing needs of the IT industry. Posts are authorized to accept L visa applications and issue visas to qualified applicants up to 90 days in advance of applicants’ beginning of employment status as noted on the Form I-797 or I-129S. Full-time services divided among affiliated companies, each using the employee on a part-time basis, however, constitute full-time employment if the aggregate time meets or exceeds the hours of a full-time position. While not expressly stated in the INA or regulations, INA 101 contemplates that the beneficiary’s qualifying experience with the petitioner must have been continuous full-time employment, and not continuous part-time employment.
As a result, being a specialized knowledge specialist is an essential requirement for the L1B. An L-1 visa is a temporary visa that allows foreign companies to transfer executives and managers (L-1A) and other workers possessing specialized knowledge (L-1B) temporarily to affiliates or subsidiaries in the United States. This visa category is intended to improve management effectiveness, expand U.S. exports, and enhance competitiveness in markets abroad.
Exercises discretion over the day- to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority. A first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity merely by virtue of the supervisor’s supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are professional. Spouses of L-1 visa holders may apply for work authorization with U.S.C.I.S. to work in U.S. without restriction. If your initial L-1 Visa application has been denied, you can apply as many times as needed. There is no limit on how many times an individual is allowed to reapply.
Qualified petitioners must use Form I-129 to file for approval of a blanket petition with the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over the area where the petitioner is located. Form I-129 must also be filed in advance with the appropriate USCIS Service Center for Canadian citizens who wish to enter the United States as L nonimmigrants under the blanket petition provision. The USCIS Service Center is required to notify the petitioner of the approval of a blanket petition within 30 days after a completed petition has been filed. There is a premium processing option for L visa petitions filed in the US, which for an additional filing fee, the U.S.