Reduced Time Frame for L-1 Eligibility
Posted Jan 25, 2002

In our article entitled, Employment Authorization Allowed for "L" & "E" Spouses, discusses legislation providing for employment authorization for persons with L-2 status (spouses of intra-company transferees). The same legislation also made L-1 status a bit easier to obtain. Signed into law by President Bush on January 16, 2001, the legislation reduces the period of time the beneficiary is required to have worked for the foreign, affiliate company, under certain conditions, from one year to six months.

The L-1 (intra-company transferee) visa is used for managers, executives, and persons with "specialized knowledge" employed by multi-national companies. "Specialized knowledge" is defined to include persons who have "special knowledge of the company's product and its application in international markets or has an advanced level of knowledge of processes and procedures of the company." The L-1 category is designed to enable U.S. companies to obtain the services of high-level employees who have worked for a foreign company that is a parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of the U.S. petitioning company. Previously, only individuals who had worked for the foreign company at least one year out of the past three could qualify for the L-1 category.

Under the new law, the year of continuous employment is reduced to a 6-month period if the petitioning employer has filed an L-1 blanket petition and met the requirements for expedited processing under the blanket petition. The blanket procedure is available only to companies that meet certain criteria. These criteria are:

a) the Petitioner must have an office in the U.S. for one year;

b) the Petitioner must have 3 or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and

c) the combined U.S. annual sales must be $25 million or there must be a workforce of 1,000 or the company must have received approval of at least 10 L petitions in the last 12 months.