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INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFER VISA
L-1A VISA OVERVIEW
The L-1A Visa is generally appropriate for a manager or executive
entering the United States to work for the same or affiliate employer
for which the alien worked abroad for at least one year within the
preceding three years. While the L-1A Visa is not intended to be
a vehicle for investors to transfer themselves to the US, such transfers
are in fact common. For a worker to qualify in the L-1A category,
the following criteria must be met:
1) There must be an affiliated relationship between the US and foreign
employer. Affiliation is generally defined by common ownership and/or
control, and can exist in several situations, including direct ownership,
and brother/sister corporate relationships.
2) Both the US and foreign employer must continue to trade and employ
workers during the entire period of the L-1A manager/executive’s
stay in the US. You should note however, that the L-1A regulations
do not require that the US and foreign employers be in the same
line of business. Nor do they specify that a certain dollar amount
of turnover be realised by either company, or that a certain number
or class of workers be employed.
3) The proposed L-1A transferee must have worked abroad for the
foreign firm, or a parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the foreign
firm, for a continuous period of one year within the three preceding
years of the transfer.
4) The one year of continuous employment described above must be
in an executive or managerial capacity. It is important
to note that job titles are generally not indicative of executive
or managerial capacity, and that the authorities tend to focus instead
on the actual duties performed by the applicant, and the number
and types of workers the applicant supervises.
5) The position the L-1A transferee intends to fill in the
US must also be executive or managerial.
6) The L-1A transferee must be coming to the US for a temporary
period. Regulations do not however, require the applicant
to maintain a foreign residence, and the intention to seek permanent
residence (green card) in the US eventually will not exclude the
possibility of obtaining an L-1A Visa.
The L-1A Visa is popular because of its perceived “convertibility”
to permanent residence (green card).
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