L-1A International Executive Transferee

L-1A Visa Lawyers in Skokie

Representing International Executive Transferees

An L-1A visa is a temporary work visa that is good for seven years. It is granted to executive managers who have been in the role for at least one of the three past years for a non-U.S. company, corporation, or other such legal entity and are seeking to travel to the United States to work in a similar position.

Those coming to the U.S. on an L-1A visa will work in a managerial or executive capacity at a related firm in the U.S. or they will supervise the opening of a new unit or entity in the U.S. that is associated with the non-U.S. company.

L-1A status applies to a manager or an executive who runs a specific area of a company, subdivision, department, or the entire company and works for a multinational company doing business in both the United States and abroad.

If you need help applying for an L-1A visa, consult with our immigration attorneys at Gambacorta Law today. Our trusted L-1A lawyers in Skokie have extensive experience petitioning for these visas on our clients’ behalf. You can count on us to help you succeed.

Eligibility Requirements for L-1A Visas

To qualify for an L-1A, the transferee is required to have work experience with the company for one continuous year within the preceding three years before he or she will be transferred to the United States.

Moreover, he or she must not be a low-level manager who wants to come temporarily to render services that entail specialized knowledge to a parent, branch, and subsidiary or affiliate U.S. companies.

A manager is defined as someone who manages people, or those who manage a function of an organization. The person in a manager position must:

Manage the organization or a department, function, or component of the organization
Supervise and control the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees or manage an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization
Have the authority to hire and fire or recommend hiring and firing of employees. If the position does not supervise others, the person must function at a senior level within the organization’s hierarchy or with respect to the function managed and exercise discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function.

Note that a first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a “managerial capacity” due to the supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are “professional.”

Duration of Stay under L-1A

Employees who are qualified to enter the United States to establish a new office may stay initially for a maximum of one year. All other qualified employees may be granted a stay of up to three years as long as both parties (the U.S. company and the foreign worker) are doing business and continue to be affiliated.

Employees who are asking for an extended stay may also be granted in increments of up to an additional two years until he or she reaches the seven-year limit.

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years old may seek admission in L-2 nonimmigrant classification, which is a derivative status that allows them to accompany the transferee and remain in the U.S. L-2 visa holders may attend schools and may work at any legal job.

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To find out more about L-1A visa application process, call Gambacorta Law at 1-847-786-2599.