What are the L1A and L1B Visa

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L1A vs L1B

• Everything You Need to Know

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The L1A and L1B Visa

• The L1A and L1B visas are great options to work
  in the United States. In this guide, I will
  compare the L1A and the L1B.

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• The L1 visa category, created by Congress in
  1970, is specifically intended for individuals
  customarily employed abroad by a company with a
  qualifying relationship to the U.S. company
  wishing to obtain the L1 visa for employees.

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The L1 visa is limited exclusively to employees
of multinational companies, and may not be used
unless the following conditions apply

1. The U.S. company wishing to acquire the L1 visa
   must have an affiliated relationship with the
   foreign company currently employing the candidate
   in question
2. The foreign company employing the candidate must
   be actively doing business, as evidenced by
   regular, systematic, and continuous provision of
   goods and services
3. The U.S. company wishing to employ the candidate
   must be actively doing business, as evidenced by
   regular, systematic, and continuous provision of
   goods and services
4. The candidate in question must have had one year
   of continuous employment with the foreign company
   in an executive, managerial, or specialized
   knowledge capacity, and must be coming to the
   U.S. to perform in a similar role.

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• On this fourth point, we come to the two
  sub-types within the L1 family L1A, intended for
  employees that will be employed in an executive
  or managerial capacity, and L1B, intended for
  specialized knowledge employees.
• The L1A visa, for executive or managerial level
  employees, has its advantages, provided of course
  that the foreign candidate in question meets the
  requirements. To qualify for an L1A visa or a
  grant of L1A status, as discussed, the foreign
  candidate must have been employed by an
  affiliated entity of the U.S. petitioning
  employer in an executive or managerial capacity.
• The key to establishing that the position in
  question is MANAGERIAL lies in the word itself
  MANAGEMENT. The foreign candidate must be able to
  show that he or she supervised employees at a
  high level, with wide discretion for
  decision-making, with only general supervision
  from higher ups in the company.

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• The USCIS has taken to challenging evidence of
  managerial level positions, and for this reason
  when submitting an L1A petition, employers must
  carefully document evidence of a managerial level
  position. Such evidence can include
  organizational charts, performance reviews,
  copies of emails showing the foreign candidate
  operating at the managerial level, and any other
  applicable evidence.
• Another tremendously important facet of both the
  L1A and the L1B categories is the job description
  of the role, both for the intended role in the
  U.S. and the role of the candidate with the
  foreign affiliate employer. This job description
  becomes even more crucial for the L1B category,
  which is for specialized knowledge level
  employees.
• Specialized knowledge, as defined by USCIS, means
  either special knowledge possessed by an
  individual of the petitioning organizations
  product, service, research, equipment,
  techniques, management, or other interests and
  its application in international markets, or an
  advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the
  organizations processes and procedures. In plain
  English, then, specialized knowledge is an
  individual with a deeper understanding of the
  multinational companys products, services, and
  methods of operation.

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• As USCIS has taken to challenging the L1A
  managerial position, so too have they challenged
  employers claims of the vitality of specialized
  knowledge employees, even though for many
  companies it is much more efficient to internally
  transfer higher level employees with deeper
  understandings of the companys working than to
  train new employees.
• Consequently, the need for a detailed job
  description, describing at length the level of
  the L1B candidates specialized knowledge, is
  crucial. Employers should carefully evaluate
  their potential L1B candidates to assess whether
  the level of specialized knowledge held by that
  employee is truly specialized in that it would be
  more efficient to transfer the employee than to
  hire a U.S. worker.
• Other evidence can include a detailed resume for
  the candidate, showing their qualifying
  professional experience in the industry and with
  the company, and although not required, copies of
  the foreign candidates educational
  documentation, showing how he/she has applied
  skills from higher education to the practice of
  the job.

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• As discussed, USCIS has increased scrutiny of
  both L1A and L1B visas under the Trump
  administration. It is unclear how USCIS will
  process L-1s under the new administration. If
  considering the L1 for a prospective foreign
  candidate who meets the basic requirements for
  the L1 in terms of qualifying employment and
  corporate relationship, employers should consider
  the following pros and cons of the two
  subcategories

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Allows for seven years of immigration status,
granted in increments of up to three years. A
significant advantage of the L1A category is that
it allows for easy transition to permanent
residence sponsorship through the EB-1C category,
allowing the employer to waive the typical labor
certification process associated with employment
based green cards. The EB-1C application relies
upon the international managerial/executive
status of the employee, and the application
process closely resembles that of the L1A.

• L1A Advantages

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Heightened scrutiny of evidence by USCIS,
temporary nature of the status.

• L1A Disadvantages

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The L1B is often used as a back-up plan for
employers who are unable to secure H-1B visas for
employees in the U.S. As long as the employer
fits the multinational definition for L1
purposes, the employer may transfer an individual
not selected for the H-1B lottery (subject to
immigration policies of the foreign entitys
country of domicile) for the customary one year
period, which then allows the employer to
transfer the employee back in L1B status. As the
definition of specialized knowledge may be
applied broadly, any employee with sufficient
experience at any given company may be argued to
qualify for a grant of L1B status.

• L1B Advantages

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L1B disadvantages Only allows FIVE years of
immigration status, granted in one increment of
three years and a second increment of two. Heavy
scrutinization of the definition of specialized
knowledge results in increased denial of L1B visa
petitions. Finally, any employer who secures an
L1B visa for an employee must consider
traditional green card sponsorship for the
employee, and must follow the standard process of
testing the labor market to obtain a Labor
Certification, prior to moving to the immigrant
petition stage of the process.

• L1B Disadvantages

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Overall L1 Advantages

• Lack of educational requirement as opposed to the
  H-1B program allows for increased applicability
  to qualified candidates. L1 status permits
  dependents of L1 visa holders (L2) to apply for
  work authorization, which upon receipt, permits
  spouses to work for any employer without
  restriction. For certain qualified employing
  entities, Blanket L status is available, allowing
  the employer to obtain recognition from the USCIS
  as a qualifying employer, thereby allowing the
  employer to transfer employees through consular
  application, bypassing the usual USCIS petition
  needed for regular L1 visa candidates.

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Overall L1 Disadvantages

• Temporary nature of the visa (maximum of seven
  years), and increased scrutinization have
  resulted in higher denial rates of L1 petitions.

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If you have any questions about the L1 visa, or
if you need help applying for an L1 visa, feel
free to call us at 1-818-741-1117.
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