The L1 Visa: What You Need To Know

By a Firm that Knows Business…

Call Now for a Free High-Level Consultation (619) 677-5727

After 34 years, we are still a law firm where, if you need to speak to your lawyer, you will, and 99% of the time,
the same day, if not the same hour.

April 2022 Update : The L1 is arguably the hardest visa to obtain but we are still filing them and winning them. If you qualify for the E2, however, it may be worth considering over the L1..
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We are one of the few law firms in the country that practice both business and immigration law; we get your needs. Our firm is about half-and-half so we have a very deep understanding of the business world and what you will require to make the L1 work for you.

Welcome to one of the world’s leading immigration law firms for L1 visas; We are one of the fastest in the country and cases are completed in 2-3 weeks’ time, we can create your business plans as well. We are one of the under .01% of firms in the country that practice both immigration ‘and’ business law in a half-and-half setting. We have processed hundreds of these with one of the highest success records worldwide …not because we get immigration, but because we get business, and can explain your business model to an immigration officer in a way that makes sense.

The L1 can lead to a Green Card in 2 years’ time and consequently, in our opinion, it is the hardest visa case to win today; choose your law firm wisely. The other great plus is that you can be from any country and still qualify for the L-1, unlike the E2 visa, which requires you to be from a treaty country. Given that the L1 is the hardest visa to obtain in 2022, do not ignore the E2 if you are from a treaty country (see our free videos under our investor tab)  You can still qualify for an EB-1 Green Card if you own or work for a foreign company and meet certain qualifications.

We have experience in a number of fields and have consulted with hundreds of companies in various fields, ranging from biotech and real estate to e-commerce. Call us now and in 5 minutes you will understand why your L1 team is in a whole different league.

-Free Business Plan Review
-High-speed processing (2-3 weeks on average)
-2 team members with you every step of the way (the
lead attorney and lead paralegal) in addition to back-end support
-Immigration Processing by people who understand Business and Immigration
 

Are you a manager or executive of a foreign company looking to transfer to an affiliate, branch, or subsidiary office in the United States, or open a new office? The L1 visa (intracompany transferee)  may be for you.

The L1  visa is the best choice if you are limited to an E or L visa (i.e. if you don’t want to invest half a million or more into the EB5 Green Card program). The catch is that you must have run an operation in a foreign country for a year and intend to keep on running it. For some people, this may not be an option. If this is not possible, an E-2 treaty investor visa may be the better choice. Feel free to give us a call at (877) 233-4684 if you’re unsure which visa to pursue. On the other hand, the L-1 visa is wonderful for nationals from countries that do not have a treaty (of navigation, friendship, and commerce) with us and therefore do not qualify for an E2.

The L-1 intracompany transferee visa is one of the hardest to win, if not the hardest because it leads to a Green Card very easily compared to the other methods.  It only takes about a year after you get your L1 visa to get a Green Card; others wait 6-8 years with a job offer, have to place ads to show they are the most qualified, and more. But Our law firm has been handling L-1 visas for 34 years and we are fully equipped to handle your case. We are a business law firm as well as an immigration firm, so we understand the difficulties you may be facing.

The L-1 intracompany transferee visa allows upper-level management employees, as well as workers and owners who direct the company (executives)  to open a new office or location for their company in the United States or transfer to an already existing location. The office or location in the United States can be a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate. “Affiliate” means the new location needs a commonality of ownership with the original office. As long as you own 51% of the company abroad and the company in the US, you may qualify as an affiliate. Essentially, you could own a software consulting firm in Toronto or a Fish n Chips restaurant in West London, open something else such as a franchise in the US, and the two of them may be completely unrelated; as long as you owned both businesses, you would qualify for the L-1 intracompany transferee visa.

Free 15-slide program comparing the three investment methods: HERE

Initially, the L-1 intracompany transferee visa is only valid for one year for a new office, then you can renew twice for three years each with a maximum level of seven years total.
L-1 intracompany transferee visas offer a nice perk: they may be used as a jumping point to a Green Card. After one year of living and working in the United States with an L-1 intracompany transferee visa, you are allowed to apply for an Employment-Based (EB) Green Card.
To outline things in simpler terms, the main benefits of the L-1 Intracompany Transferee visa are:

1. You can enter this country with a very small investment. Compare this to the EB5, which requires a bare minimum of $500,000 and you must hire 10 employees for a period of two years.
2. It can lead to a Green Card, as is possible with the E-2 treaty investor visa.
3. The category of Green Card the L-1 visa leads to is the highest level, known as EB1, and the position does not have to be advertised (as in a process called Labor Certification, or more commonly known as PERM.

The L1 intracompany transferee visa is a very versatile visa and can be obtained in a month’s time with Premium Processing, a process by which you pay an extra $2500 for a rapid reply from the immigration department, Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).

Many people ask us whether an L-1 intracompany transferee visa places restrictions on the work your spouse would be allowed to do if he or she accompanied you to the United States. There are no restrictions! Your spouse would be able to obtain authorization to work in any field, whether or not the work is related to the company you have invested in.
If you would like to know more about the eligibility requirements for the L-1 intracompany transferee visa, feel free to click over to the L-1 Intracompany Transferee Visa Eligibility page.

Have questions, or ready to get started? Give us a call today for a Free L1 visa consultation!

For those calling from inside or outside the US: (619) 677-5727
From London England 02033710984

From Canada Only: (877) 223-4684