Employees of an international company that are transferred into the U.S. temporarily to work for the company’s parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary enter the U.S. on an L-1 Intra-company Transferee visa. This classification of visa is issued to employees that are at the managerial or executive level (L-1A) or have specialized knowledge (L-1B) and are entering the U.S. to work in a similar capacity. As a prerequisite, the employee must have spent at least one continuous year out of the preceding three years working for the company outside of the U.S.  The U.S.-based company must continue operations for the duration of the authorized stay and the visa holder should generally expect to be transferred back upon completion of the visa’s purpose.

(L-1A) Manager: is an individual that manages either the entire company, or an entire department, subdivision or component. A manager is typically not a front-line supervisor, but rather someone that supervises and controls the work of other professional or managerial employees.  A manager can also manage an essential function of the company and be authorized to make critical decisions concerning the day-to-day operations of his or her unit of subordination.

(L-1A) Executive: is an individual who, as a part of their job:  1) Receives only general supervision or directives from high-level executives, directors or shareholders; 2) possesses extensive discretionary decision-making authority; 3) directs the management of the organization or a significant component of it; and 4) sets the goals or policies of the organization or one of its parts.

(L-1B) Specialized Knowledge Employee:  has knowledge of the employer company’s products, services, research, equipment, techniques, management or other interests and its application in international markets, or sophisticated knowledge of the company’s processes and procedures. The level of knowledge must be such that it is not widely held throughout the industry, but is truly specialized.