Several individuals aspire to work in the United States. However, aspiring candidates must acquire a visa to visit and work in this country. In this regard, an L-1 visa is the one that potential candidates need to apply for to fulfil their dreams of working in this country.Â
Keep scrolling to find out vital aspects of this visa before applying.
An L-1 visa of the US is a non-immigrant visa that permits foreign nationals to work in the United States for a limited time, which can range from 3 months to 5 years, depending on the applicants' origin countries. This is valid for individuals employed in a corporation with offices in the US and abroad.Â
Workers from foreign countries can work in their corporation's US branch post being employed in a similar company abroad for at least 1 year within 3 years before moving into the US. The substantial ties between US and Non-US companies can be defined via branches and headquarters, parent and subsidiary, affiliates or sister corporations with mutual ownership.
Besides, an L-1 visa of the USA also entitles foreign corporations that do not have any branch located in this country to send an employee to set up a firm against meeting specific requirements.
An L-1 visa is sub-divided into two types:
The validity of this visa is 7 years. After its expiry, holders can gain L-1 status after working abroad for at least 1 year in a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate of a US company.
The validity of this permit is 5 years. After its expiry, the holder can become eligible to gain L-1 status after having 1 year of experience working in a US corporation's branch, subsidiary, affiliate or parent located abroad.
The eligibility criteria to qualify L-1 visa are as follows:
For Employers
For Employees
For Business Owners
Primarily, there are two following processes to apply for an L-1 visa:
Employers apply for an L-1 visa on behalf of the potential candidate in this process. They can begin by filing a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which must approve the application for further proceedings.
In this procedure, the USCIS already assesses the eligibility of a company. Therefore, applicants only need to submit a photocopy of an approved blanket petition along with supporting documents.
Submit the following documents while applying for an L-1 visa:
Documents Required From the Company in the United States
Documents Required From a Foreign Company
Documents Required From a Transferee
The fee may differ with each country. However, individuals may expect to incur the following cost for an L-1 visa:
Particulars |
Approximate Fees (in ₹) |
Fee for filing petition |
$ 325 |
Additional fee for premium processing |
$ 1,225 |
Fees for detection and fraud prevention |
$ 500 |
Additional fees (depending on the circumstances) |
$ 2,250 |
The L-1 visa holder can remain in the United States for 7 years. However, at the beginning stage of moving into this country, holders can stay for 1 to 3 years.
The first step for applicants should be to analyse the causes of rejection after knowing that their L-1 visa application request has been rejected. Then, if they want to challenge this decision, they can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office or through US District Court. Alternatively, applicants can apply for other appropriate visas like H-1B against fulfilling specific requirements.
Keep the pointers about the L-1 visa in mind, as mentioned above, to avoid any inconvenience while applying for it.