L-1 Intracompany Transfers: An Employer Guide

Use the L-1 when you already employ the person abroad and want them in the US soon. It avoids the H-1B lottery and the October 1 start date.

For the worker's view, see L-1A and L-1B.

The company. The US and foreign entities must have a qualifying relationship: parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, through common ownership and control. Both must be (or, for a new office, will be) doing business, meaning regular, continuous trade or services, not just having an agent or office.

The role.

• L-1A: primarily managing the organization, a department, or an essential function, or managing other professionals or managers. Executives direct the organization or a major part of it with wide discretion.
• L-1B: needs specialized knowledge of your products, services, research, equipment, techniques, or procedures that is not common in the industry.

The worker. At least one continuous year of full-time work for the qualifying foreign entity within the three years before the petition, in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge role. Time spent in the US does not count toward the year but does not break it.

L-1B placement rule. You cannot place an L-1B worker mainly at an unaffiliated client's site if the client controls the work, or if the arrangement is really labor for hire.

A blanket L approval lets you send qualifying staff directly to a US consulate with Form I-129S, without filing an individual petition each time. Your company group generally qualifies if:

• The US office has been doing business for at least 1 year
• The group has 3 or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates
• And it meets one of these: 10 or more L-1 approvals in the past 12 months, US subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million, or a US workforce of at least 1,000 employees

Under a blanket, L-1B workers must be specialized knowledge professionals (jobs needing a bachelor's degree or equivalent). Consular officers can still refer doubtful cases back to USCIS for an individual petition.

A foreign company can use the L-1 to send someone to set up its first US operation. The petition must show:

• Physical premises secured for the US office (a lease, not a virtual office)
• The worker's one year of qualifying foreign employment
• For L-1A, that the office will support a managerial or executive role within one year, backed by a business plan, funding, and hiring plan

New-office approvals last 1 year. To extend, you must show the office is operating, has staff, and that the role has become truly managerial. Small offices with one person doing all the work often fail at extension.

USCIS fees as of September 2026, from the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055, edition 09/09/26):

Example: a 100-person company transferring one L-1A through an individual petition pays $1,385 + $600 + $500 = $2,485 in USCIS fees, or $5,450 with premium processing. Legal fees are extra. Try the sponsorship cost estimator.

• Keep the role real. The worker must actually perform the managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge job approved. USCIS's Fraud Detection and National Security unit runs site visits.
• Keep the qualifying relationship. A sale, merger, or restructuring that breaks common ownership can end L-1 eligibility; file amended petitions for material changes.
• Pay and payroll. There is no LCA or prevailing wage filing for L-1, but the worker must be on a lawful payroll arrangement and follow US tax and labor law. Follow the minimum wage and overtime rules that apply.
• Form I-9 for every L-1 worker, with reverification when the I-94 ends. See I-9 and E-Verify.
• Track maximum stays. Time spent outside the US can be recaptured, but plan the green card before the 5- or 7-year limit.

Canadian citizens can usually present an L-1 petition (or blanket documents) at a US port of entry or preclearance station instead of getting a visa.

Nationals of the 19 countries fully covered by the travel ban cannot get L-1 visas since January 1, 2026.

Green card: L-1A managers and executives often qualify for EB-1C, which needs no PERM. L-1B workers usually need PERM. L-1 status allows dual intent, but a 2026 USCIS memo (PM-602-0199) limits adjustment of status for people in temporary status to "extraordinary circumstances," so workers should get legal advice first.

• Calling a first-line supervisor a manager. Managing non-professional staff does not qualify for L-1A.
• Weak specialized knowledge proof. Explain what the worker knows that others in the industry do not, and why.
• Counting the wrong year. The year must be continuous, with a qualifying entity, in the last three years.
• Thin new-office plans that cannot support an extension.
• Placing L-1B workers at client sites under client control.