In a globalized world, successful companies are multinational corporations with established branches in all the world’s important economic centers. To facilitate the movement of personnel foreign branches and US branches of the same multinational corporation, the US government grants special temporary work visa for Intra-company transfers: L-1

· What is the visa for?
The L1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows employees that have worked for a branch, affiliate or subsidiary of a company outside the US to transfer to the company’s US operations. The temporary amount of time a L1 visa holder can work in the US is up to 7 years.

· Who can qualify?
Management and executives as well as specialized workers in the areas of IT, research or any other vital skill for the company’s US operations, are the ones that can qualify for this particular type of visa. Companies that need transfers of foreign national employees to US branches on a regular basis in order to have well performing business operations, can qualify for a special status within this category, called the Blanket L1 status that minimizes processing times for their applications. These companies need to fulfill additional requirements in order to be awarded this status.

Owners of L1 visas can come with their immediate family to the US during their work period. Their immediate family will qualify under an L2 visa, a visa only applicable to spouses and children of L1 visa holders.

· Application procedure
If you are an employee abroad seeking to get an l1 visa, you should contact your US embassy or consulate and file an initial application to them. For professional advice on whether you qualify for this type of visa or not, you can contact a US immigration law firm or look up the online visa application instructions and forms provided by US Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS .