L-1B Visa: Transfer to the US as a Specialized Knowledge Employee

The companies must have a qualifying relationship: the US employer and the foreign employer are the same company, or related as parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate. The company must keep doing business in the United States and at least one other country.

You must:

• Have worked for the related company outside the United States for at least one continuous year in the three years before the petition
• Have worked there in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge role
• Be coming to the United States to work in a role that needs your specialized knowledge

What is "specialized knowledge"?

USCIS defines it as either:

• Special knowledge of the company's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and how they apply in international markets, or
• An advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the company's own processes and procedures

The knowledge should be distinct or uncommon compared with others in the industry or the company, and not easily passed on to a new US hire. Examples that can qualify include an engineer who helped build the company's own software platform, a technician trained in a proprietary manufacturing process, or a specialist in the company's internal methods for serving clients in a particular market. The petition should explain how long it took you to gain the knowledge and what would happen if the company had to train someone new.

General skills that are common in your field, such as knowing a popular programming language, are not enough on their own. If you will manage people or a function, the L-1A visa may fit better.

Time spent outside the United States can be recaptured. If you are promoted to a managerial or executive role and hold L-1A status for at least 6 months, your total can rise to 7 years.

You may work only for the petitioning company and its related entities. L-1 status is not portable to an unrelated employer. If your job ends, you generally have a grace period of up to 60 days (or until your I-94 ends, if sooner) to change status or leave.

Working at a client site

The L-1 Visa Reform Act limits L-1B workers placed at another company's site. An L-1B generally cannot be placed mainly at an unrelated employer's worksite if that employer controls and supervises your work, or if the arrangement is just supplying labor. The work at a client site must be connected to your employer's specialized product or service. USCIS looks closely at these cases.

Large multinationals with a blanket L approval can send employees directly to a US consulate with Form I-129S, without a separate USCIS petition. Under a blanket, L-1B workers must be specialized knowledge professionals, meaning their jobs require at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent. Other L-1B workers need an individual petition.

Canadian citizens can usually present an L-1 petition at a US port of entry or preclearance station.

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come as L-2 dependents. L-2 spouses can work for any employer because their status allows it; their I-94 is annotated to show this. L-2 children can study but cannot work.

USCIS amounts are from the USCIS fee schedule as of September 2026. Employers can read our L-1 employer guide.

USCIS times for Form I-129 are on the processing times tool. Premium processing gets a decision or request for evidence within 15 business days. Then you need a visa interview unless you are Canadian; see global visa wait times.

Travel ban: since January 1, 2026, Proclamation 10998 blocks all visas, including L-1, for nationals of the 19 fully restricted countries. L-1 is not among the categories restricted for the 20 partially restricted countries.

L-1B allows dual intent, so you can pursue a green card while in status. L-1B workers usually do not qualify for the EB-1C category (that is for managers and executives), so most follow employer sponsorship:

1. PERM labor certification
2. Form I-140 in EB-2 or EB-3
3. Adjustment of status when your priority date is current

Because L-1B is limited to 5 years and green card waits can be long for some countries, plan early. Some workers move to an H-1B, which allows extensions past 6 years once a green card case is far enough along.

Common reasons for denials and requests for evidence:

• The knowledge described is common in the industry, not specialized to the company
• The petition does not explain how you gained the knowledge or why a US worker could not quickly learn it
• The client-site arrangement looks like labor for hire
• The one year abroad is not continuous or not in a qualifying role

See our guide on RFEs and NOIDs.