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Intra-company Transfers (L-1) The L-1 category is intended to facilitate the establishment and operation of U.S. subsidiaries of foreign employers by permitting the transfer of executive, managerial , and specialized knowledge workers into the US from abroad for the purpose of working for an affiliated entity. The L-1 category's purpose and effect is to promote foreign investment into the US by authorizing the admission and employment of non-US workers without outward consideration of the potential displacement of US workers. In distinction to the H-1b category, the L-1 employer need not secure a Labor Department determination that transferred employees are receiving, for example, the prevailing wage, or, for that matter, that they are receiving any wage at all. Neither is there an obligation to provide notice to potentially affected US employees of the particulars of an L-1 employee's engagement. Instead, the law presumes that by facilitating the easy transfer of key management functions and those with institutional knowledge, foreign firms will successfully deploy US subsidiaries leading to the creation of new jobs and commencement of new economic activity, which inures to the benefit of the US economy as a whole. A foreign firm or it's US affiliate seeking to transfer employees from abroad must establish that it is a "Qualifying Organization" under the immigration laws. This requires a showing that the petitioning entity:
USCIS rules define "doing business" as the "regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services" by a qualifying organization, but the activity need not necessarily be carried on as a commercial enterprise. Religious groups and other not-for-profit entities may therefore qualify as an L-1 sponsor provided they meet the other regulatory indicia. The Petitioner may seek transfer of employees engaged in executive or managerial, functions or those with specialized knowledge who have been employed abroad by the petitioner. In most cases, the law requires employment by the foreign firm continuously for at least one year out of the past three. (Where a commercial employer has secured a blanket L-1 petition, the employment period is reduced to six months for eligible employees.) The employee may have visited the US while a foreign employee without interrupting the one year requirement, but time spent in the US will not count toward the one year abroad.
Executive
If the employer is seeking to transfer an employee into an already established US subsidiary, it must demonstrate the qualifying relationship with the foreign firm, that the individual's qualifications fit one of the three employee categories, and that the employee meets the one year continuous employment rule. It must also provide a description of the employee's job duties with the US subsidiary. The work performed abroad need not have been the same as the employee's position in the US. If the employee to be transferred is also a major equity stakeholder of the foreign firm, petitioner must demonstrate that the stakeholder's services will be temporary and that he will be transferred abroad upon completion of those services. CIS rules require grant of L-1 petitions within thirty days of filing. If CIS requests additional evidence to support the petition, the clock is reset and the thirty day count recommences. Upon grant, USCIS will either notify the consulate specified by the petitioner so as to permit the employee to apply for admission, or will change the status of the employee already in the United States to reflect L-1 status. Canadian citizens have the option of applying for and obtaining L-1 status at a border inspection point by providing the Form I-129 application signed by the employer and all necessary supporting documentation.
The procedures described to this point apply to one-off petitions. Larger firms, which may have thousands of employees and significant employee churn, would be subject to a crushing compliance burden if forced to demonstrate their qualifying organization status with each petition. As such, the law permits commercial employers (to the exclusion of not-for profits and religious ones) to secure grant of a blanket petition which streamlines the employee transfer process. Firms may qualify for a blanket petition on demonstrating that they:
The blanket petition permits the US employer to transfer the employee among different US affiliates without notice to or prior consent from the CIS. If the employee's job functions change, the employer must complete a new certificate of eligibility. The blanket grant is issued for a period of three years. The holder may extend the blanket grant indefinitely by resubmitting its petition and evidence of prior grant and by providing a report detailing, for the prior three years, the identity of employees transferred into the US , the employing entities, dates of admission, and whether the petitioner retains status necessary for a blanket grant. If the holder fails to seek indefinite grant by the expiration of the blanket petition, it will expire and the employer must thereafter seek employee transfers on an individual basis for three years, after which it will again be eligible for a blanket petition grant
Duration of Admission Employees holding L-1 status are permitted to reside in the US for varying terms depending upon whether: (1) they are entering the US to establish a new office or operate an existing one; or (2) they are employed as executive/managers or as specialized knowledge workers. Employees establishing a new office are admitted to the US for a one year term subject to extension upon demonstration that the new office has, in fact, commenced doing business. Employees transferred to operating businesses will be granted initial terms of three years, which may be extended to seven years for executives and managers and five years for specialized knowledge workers. A specialized knowledge worker may be moved to an executive/manager position and obtain the longer duration of stay, but must have been in that status for at least six months prior to filing a petition for extension of the seven year maximum. An employee who has reached the duration limit of the applicable classification must reside abroad continuously for one year before returning to the US in L-1 status.
The L-1 classification expressly permits non-US employees to pursue adjustment to permanent resident status while in the US as an L-1 transferee. The employer may therefore petition for an employment-based immigrant visa once the individual has entered the US and has been working for the US entity. Upon admission under L-1 status, however, the employee must represent that it is his intention to leave the US at the end of the term.
The L-1 employee may be accompanied by his spouse and unmarried minor children for the duration of his authorized admission, as extended. The spouse may secure employment without an employers' sponsorship upon obtaining an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which is a available as a matter of right. (This represents a distinct advantage over H-1b status, which bars spousal employment). If CIS has not acted upon a petition for EAD within 90 days of filing, the spouse can seek a temporary, 240 day authorization from the USCIS' local district office, where the underlying petition is often adjudicated on the spot. EADs are not available to minor dependents
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