If you are a business owner, CEO, or manager and you want to transfer yourself or another manager or executive of your company to your U.S. office, there is a visa option available. An L-1A visa allows a foreign corporation, affiliate, subsidiary, or parent company of a U.S. company to transfer an executive or manager to work temporarily in the United States. As a cross-border immigration lawyer based in Windsor, Ontario and serving clients in the Detroit, Michigan area, I help U.S. employers transfer foreign managers and executives to their American offices and assist foreign employees in obtaining L-1A status. In this article, I will discuss how your employee can qualify for an L-1A visa.
General Qualifications of L-1A Workers
For your foreign employee to qualify for an L-1A visa, the following criteria must be met:
- There must be a qualifying relationship between the foreign and U.S. office;
- The worker must have been employed in an executive or managerial capacity abroad;
- The worker’s employment abroad must have been for at least one continuous year within the last three years before submitting the L-1A petition;
- The worker must be entering the United States temporarily to work for the U.S. branch, subsidiary, affiliate, or parent of the company abroad;
- The worker will be employed in an executive or managerial capacity in the United States; and
- The foreign worker must have the qualifications for the job, including prior education, training, and employment.
Qualifying Relationship Between the Foreign and U.S. Company
To transfer your L-1A employee, there must be a qualifying relationship between the foreign company and the U.S. company. A qualifying relationship has two aspects:
- The company in the United States is a parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary of the foreign company; and
- Both the U.S. and foreign companies are actively conducting business.
Qualifying Organizations
A qualifying organization can include the following:
Parent company: A corporation, firm, or other legal entity that has subsidiaries.
Subsidiary: A firm, corporation, or other legal entity of which a parent controls and owns (directly or indirectly) at least part of the entity. A subsidiary may also include a company that is owned 50 percent through a 50-50 joint venture with equal control and veto power.
Branch: An office or division of the company that operates in a different location.
Affiliate: One of two subsidiaries both owned and controlled by the same parent or individual, or one of two legal entities owned and controlled by the same group of individuals with each owning approximately the same share of each entity. Special provisions may also apply to accounting services partnerships.
Conducting Business
The qualifying organizations must regularly and systematically provide goods or services. The mere incorporation of a business, the existence of an agent, or an office location is not sufficient — it must be established that the enterprises are actively operating.
Employment in an Executive Capacity
To meet the employment in an executive capacity requirement, the worker must perform the following duties:
(1) Directs the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization;
(2) Establishes the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function;
(3) Exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and
(4) Receives only general supervision or direction from higher-level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization.
Employment in a Managerial Capacity
To meet the employment in a managerial capacity requirement, the worker must perform the following duties:
(1) Manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function, or component of the organization;
(2) Supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional, or managerial employees, or manages an essential function within the organization, or a department or subdivision of the organization;
(3) Has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those as well as other personnel actions (such as promotion and leave authorization) if another employee or other employees are directly supervised; if no other employee is directly supervised, functions at a senior level within the organizational hierarchy or with respect to the function managed; and
(4) Exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function for which the employee has authority. A first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity merely by virtue of the supervisor’s supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are professional.
To clarify, to meet the managerial capacity requirement, you may be employed as a manager in the traditional sense, where you have direct reports, or you may manage a function of the company. For L-1A purposes, the latter type of managers are known as “functional managers.” Also, if you are a first-line supervisor, you are not considered a manager for L-1A purposes unless your direct reports are professionals, meaning they generally hold four-year bachelor’s degrees or equivalents.
A Minimum of One Year of Continuous Foreign Employment Within the Last Three Years
You must have worked for the company abroad for at least one continuous year within the last three years in an executive or managerial position before entering the United States in the proposed U.S. executive or managerial role. If you are already working for the U.S. company in another immigration status, such as TN or H-1B, you may still apply to change your status to L-1A, as long as you worked for the company abroad in a managerial or executive position for at least one continuous year in the three years before entering the United States. This requirement can be met even if you have been working for the company in the United States for several years.
You Must Enter the United States to Work in an Executive or Managerial Capacity
While it is not required that you hold the exact same job as you did abroad, you must be employed in an executive or managerial position in the United States. Further, you may only work for the U.S. branch, subsidiary, affiliate, or parent of the company abroad — not for any other entity.
Qualified for the Proposed U.S. Executive or Managerial Position
It must be established that you are qualified for the U.S. executive or managerial position. The L-1A petition should include your CV, diplomas, training certificates, or other relevant documents to establish that you meet the job requirements. It should not be assumed that a consular or USCIS officer will know that you are qualified; your qualifications should be clearly established in the petition.
Applying for an L-1A Visa
Applicants typically apply through USCIS. When applying through USCIS, there is no interview, so it is important to prepare a strong petition that addresses all possible doubts. Only photocopies of relevant documents are submitted, no originals. If USCIS needs additional information or has doubts about the petition, they may issue a Request for Evidence explaining how the petition is deficient and listing what can be provided to resolve those doubts. There is a deadline that must be met; if the Request for Evidence is not responded to in time, the officer will decide based on the information on file, which will likely result in a denial.
Once approved, the applicant can schedule and attend an appointment at the U.S. consulate in their home country, where they will interview for the visa. If the applicant satisfies the consular officer that they qualify, the visa will be issued. While a consular officer generally defers to USCIS’ decision, they retain independent discretion and may still deny the visa if there are inconsistencies or other red flags. The consular officer will take the applicant’s passport to insert the visa, which may take one to three weeks to receive. It is advisable for your employee to wait until they have the visa in hand before making any travel plans.
Application Process for Canadians
Canadian employees can apply for an L-1A visa for the first time at a port of entry or through USCIS. If applying at a port of entry, an appointment may need to be scheduled in advance; it is recommended that you contact the port of entry beforehand to confirm whether one is required. Some ports of entry have optimized L visa processing. The application process can take anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours at a border crossing, or potentially longer at an airport depending on how busy it is. It is recommended that you arrive early and plan for the process to take a few hours. Applying in person involves bringing two copies of the petition and original supporting documents (if applicable) and answering the CBP officer’s questions. Once the officer is satisfied, you will be approved and can enter the United States on L-1A status. Similar to the consular process, the CBP officer has discretion and may deny entry if there are inconsistencies.
L-1A Visa Fees
The base filing fees for Form I-129 and the Asylum Program Fee vary by employer type:
| Employer Type | Form I-129 Fee | Asylum Program Fee |
| Small Employer | $695 USD | $300 USD |
| Nonprofit | $695 USD | Exempt |
| Regular Employer | $1,385 USD | $600 USD |
Your company may also have to pay an additional $500 USD Fraud Prevention and Detection fee if:
- You are filing for the initial approval of an L visa petition;
- You are filing a petition to employ an L visa worker currently working for another petitioner; or
- For a blanket petition, you are filing for your employee to work for a different entity.
An additional $4,500 USD may be payable if:
- Your company is required to pay the Fraud Prevention and Detection fee;
- Your company employs 50 or more individuals in the United States; and
- More than 50 percent of your U.S. employees are in H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B nonimmigrant status.
Premium processing
Premium processing, which guarantees a response (not necessarily an approval) from USCIS within 15 business days, is available for an additional $2,965 USD. Normal processing can take three to six months. Given these longer wait times, Canadians generally prefer to apply at a port of entry. For L-1A renewals, all applicants, including Canadians, must renew through USCIS and cannot renew with CBP.
Requirements for New L-1A Offices
If you would like to expand your business into the United States, you can establish a new office for your L-1A company. To qualify as a new office, your business must meet the qualifying relationship requirements discussed above and must have been doing business for less than one year. If the U.S. office has been operating for more than one year, you would need to meet the standard requirements discussed above to qualify as an L-1A executive or manager.
Additional requirements for a new office petition include having sufficient physical space to conduct business in the United States, and the U.S. entity must be able to support an executive or managerial position within one year of the petition being approved.
For a new office petition, you will need to include the following information and supporting documentation:
- The nature of the office;
- The scope of the entity;
- The U.S. office’s organizational structure;
- The U.S. office’s financial goals;
- The size of the U.S. investment;
- The financial ability of the foreign entity to pay the L-1A visa holder and to start doing business in the United States; and
- The organizational structure of the foreign entity.
For L-1A visa holders who are an owner or major stockholder of the company, you will be transferred back to an assignment abroad at the end of your temporary services in the United States. An L-1A visa associated with a new office is valid for one year and can then be renewed in two-year increments for a total of seven years.
Blanket Petitions
If an L-1A entity meets certain conditions, it can file a blanket L visa petition. This means that instead of including the lengthy documentation needed to establish the qualifying relationship between the foreign and U.S. entity each time, the blanket approval covers that relationship, making individual petitions more concise.
The requirements for a blanket petition are as follows:
(A) The petitioner and each of those entities are engaged in commercial trade or services;
(B) The petitioner has an office in the United States that has been doing business for one year or more;
(C) The petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and
(D) The petitioner and the other qualifying organizations have obtained approval of petitions for at least ten “L” managers, executives, or specialized knowledge professionals during the previous 12 months; or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or have a United States workforce of at least 1,000 employees.
The last requirement makes blanket petitions more suitable for larger corporations. For smaller employers, you will likely need to file individual L-1A visa petitions.
Frequently Asked Questions About L-1A Visas
Can I petition myself for an L-1A visa?
L-1A visas are not eligible for self-petition. You must be petitioned by a company.
What if I had to make brief trips to the United States for work? Can I still meet the one-year of employment abroad requirement?
Brief periods in the United States, whether for work or pleasure, do not disrupt the one year of continuous employment abroad requirement. However, those periods inside the United States do not count toward the one-year requirement.
Can family members accompany an L-1A visa holder?
An L-1A holder’s spouse (through a legally recognized marriage) and minor children under the age of 21 can accompany you on L-2 visa status. Your spouse will be able to work for any U.S. employer. Your children will be able to attend school but will not have work authorization.
How many times can an L-1A visa be renewed?
In general, an L-1A visa is valid for three years initially and can be renewed twice for two-year periods, for a maximum total of seven years. Once that period has ended, you will need to return to your home country and wait one year before becoming eligible to apply again. However, if you only occasionally work in the United States, your L-1A visa can be renewed indefinitely.
Do I have to live in the United States with an L-1A visa?
There is no requirement that you reside in the United States after being approved. In fact, if you do not continually reside in the United States, have seasonal or intermittent employment or work less than six months a year, or live abroad and commute to the United States for part-time employment, then the seven-year limit does not apply and the L-1A visa can be extended indefinitely.
Can an L-1A worker obtain a green card?
The most direct path to permanent residence with an L-1A visa is to apply for an EB-1C, which grants permanent residence. The qualifications for an L-1A and EB-1C are substantially similar, so for most applicants who already hold an L-1A visa, EB-1C is worth serious consideration.
There may be situations, however, where applying for an EB-1C is not feasible or may be denied. If you were a functional manager abroad, USCIS may question whether you were actually eligible for your initial L-1A and may wrongly deny your EB-1C petition. Additionally, if your L-1A U.S. company is a start-up, it may not be sufficiently established to support an EB-1C petition. In those cases, other options exist. If you are extraordinary in your field, you may qualify for EB-1A. If your company cannot find qualified U.S. workers for your position, you may be petitioned through the EB-2 PERM process. And if you have a proposed endeavor with substantial merit and national importance and can establish that you are well-positioned to advance it, you may qualify for an EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) — though the benefits of your endeavor would need to extend beyond your company and immediate clients. The best path depends on your individual qualifications and circumstances.
Is there a minimum salary for L-1A workers?
While there is no formal prevailing wage determination requiring the U.S. Department of Labor to set a minimum salary, the pay should be consistent with what workers in the profession are normally paid. If the worker is paid too low, the L-1A petition may be refused.
Can an L-1A visa worker intend to immigrate permanently?
In U.S. immigration law, visas are generally categorized as either non-immigrant intent or dual intent. For non-immigrant intent visas, a visa can only be issued if the applicant does not intend to permanently reside in the United States. For dual intent visas, applicants may express an intent to reside in the United States and still be eligible. L visas are dual intent visas, meaning an L-1A employee may have demonstrated immigrant intent and still qualify.
Do I need to maintain a residence abroad?
There is no requirement that an L-1A visa holder maintain a permanent residence abroad or demonstrate an intent not to abandon it. Whether to keep a foreign residence is a personal decision.
Can a worker with a TN visa switch to an L-1A visa?
If you have a TN visa, you may have also fulfilled the qualifications for an L-1A visa. If you worked for a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary abroad in an executive or managerial position for at least one year within the three years before working for the U.S. company, you may qualify. The benefits of switching include that your spouse will be able to work in the United States. Additionally, because the L-1A is a dual intent visa, it may be easier to pursue permanent residence, since the filing of certain immigration forms that indicate immigrant intent would not affect your status.
Contact a Windsor-Detroit Immigration Lawyer for L-1A Assistance
As a Canada-U.S. cross-border immigration lawyer based in Windsor, Ontario and serving clients in the Detroit, Michigan area, I help U.S. employers transfer managers and executives to their American offices and assist foreign employees in obtaining L-1A status. If you are considering an L-1A visa for yourself or an employee, please reach out. I would be happy to discuss your situation and help you determine the best path forward.
Last Updated on March 21, 2026 by Ernest J. Edwards
