Chapter 2 - General Eligibility

A noncitizen may qualify as an L-1 intracompany transferee if:

• The noncitizen was employed abroad continuously for 1 of the 3 years preceding the application for admission to the United States;

• The 1 year of continuous employment abroad was in a managerial or executive capacity or in a position that involved specialized knowledge;

• The noncitizen is seeking to enter the United States temporarily to render their services to the same employer (which includes a branch of the foreign employer) or its parent, affiliate, or subsidiary; and

• The position in the United States will be in a managerial or executive capacity or will involve specialized knowledge.^[1]

In addition, the qualifying employer who intends to temporarily transfer an employee to work in the United States must demonstrate that:

• There is a qualifying relationship between the entity in the United States and the foreign operation that employs the beneficiary abroad;

• The petitioning employer will continue to do business both in the United States and in at least one other country, either directly or through a parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States;

• The beneficiary has been employed abroad continuously by the foreign office for at least 1 of the last 3 years;^[2] and

• The beneficiary’s prior year of employment abroad was in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity^[3] and that the prospective employment in the United States will be in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity.^[4]

In addition, the petitioner must establish that the beneficiary’s duties in the U.S meet the criteria for either specialized knowledge or managerial or executive capacity and the beneficiary engaged in either specialized knowledge or managerial or executive duties for at least 1 year. However, the beneficiary does not have to be transferred to the United States in the same capacity in which they were employed abroad. For example, a manager abroad could be transferred to the United States in a specialized knowledge capacity or vice versa.^[5]

If the beneficiary will be in a specialized knowledge capacity and primarily be working at a location other than the petitioner’s, then the beneficiary must be:

• Under the primary control and supervision of the petitioner; and

• Providing a product or service for which specialized knowledge specific to the petitioner is necessary.

A. L-1 Blanket Petitions

The blanket petition program allows a petitioner to seek continuing approval of itself, its parent, and its branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates as qualifying organizations and, later, classify under the L nonimmigrant category any number of beneficiaries employed by itself, its parent, or some of its branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates. USCIS adjudicates blanket L petitions based on the same general principles used in adjudicating the qualifying relationship of individual L-1 petitions. However, some differences exist.

Who May File Blanket Petition

The blanket L-1 procedure is intended for larger international organizations. Only entities involved in commercial trade or services may use the blanket petition.^[6] Therefore, noncommercial organizations, like churches, may not use the blanket petition.

A U.S. petitioner may file a blanket petition to receive continuing approval of itself and its parent, branches, specified subsidiaries, and affiliates as qualifying organizations.

B. Blanket Petitioner Requirements

The petitioner must show that:

• The petitioner and each of the entities included are engaged in commercial trade or services;

• The petitioner has an office in the United States that has been doing business for 1 year or more;

• The petitioner has three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and

• The petitioner and the other qualifying organizations have obtained approval of petitions for at least 10 “L” managers, executives, or specialized knowledge workers during the previous 12 months; or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.^[7]

C. Qualifying Organizations Under the Blanket Petition

The petitioner must list all the foreign entities and all the U.S. entities that it wants to have approved and establish who has ownership and control of all the entities. USCIS can only approve those entities meeting the definition of a qualifying organization.^[8]

If there is a question about ownership or control for any of the petitioned entities (or both), officers should issue a Request for Evidence to make a determination. USCIS names all approvable entities on a list included with the approval notice of the blanket petition.

D. Beneficiaries of L-1 Blanket Petitions

Once a blanket petition is approved, individual beneficiaries may receive L-1 classification under the approved blanket petition. The focus of the adjudication is the individual beneficiary’s qualifications and eligibility, as the approved blanket petition will have already resolved issues relating to the organization’s qualifications. Petitioners seeking to classify the individual beneficiary under the approved blanket petition must establish that the beneficiary was employed abroad for 1 of the 3 years prior to the individual petition filing in a qualifying capacity and must establish that the beneficiary will be employed in a qualifying capacity in the United States. For blanket L-1 purposes, a qualifying capacity is:

• Managerial;

• Executive; or

• Specialized knowledge professional.

E. Family Members of L-1 Beneficiaries

The spouse and unmarried dependent children (under the age of 21) of an L-1 beneficiary may, if eligible, be granted L-2 classification and be given the same validity dates as the L-1 principal.^[9] L-2 dependents are not included on the L-1 petition. Although a separate petition is not required of L-2 dependents, such persons must apply for an L-2 visa at the U.S. consulate based on the L-1 principal’s petition, or they can file an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539).

As of November 12, 2021, USCIS considers certain L-2 nonimmigrant dependent spouses employment authorized incident to status^[10] who are no longer required to obtain employment authorization before engaging in employment.^[11] Notwithstanding this change, L-2 spouses may continue to apply for an Employment Authorization Document to obtain evidence of identity and employment authorization by properly filing an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765), with the appropriate fee, if applicable. L-2 dependent children may be given the same validity dates as the L-1 principal until the day they marry or reach the age of 21, whichever comes first. L-2 dependent children may not accept employment in the United States but may attend school.^[12]

The continued validity of the L-1 principal’s status and the L-2 dependent’s status depends on the L-1 principal’s qualifying employment with the petitioning employer. When the employer-employee relationship is terminated, or the nature of the employment no longer qualifies for L-1 purposes, the L status is no longer valid.

Footnotes

[^ 1] See INA 101(a)(15)(L). See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(A).

[^ 2] See Matter of Kloeti (PDF), 18 I&N Dec. 295 (Reg. Comm. 1982).

[^ 3] A beneficiary need not have worked exclusively in one of these three types of positions during the entire qualifying period of employment. As long as the beneficiary was primarily employed in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge capacity, USCIS considers the petitioner to have sufficiently met the regulatory requirement at 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3)(iv). 

[^ 4] In the case of an L-1A beneficiary who is coming to the United States to set up a new office, the 1 year of experience abroad must have been in an executive or managerial capacity. See Chapter 8, Documentation and Evidence, Section B, Evidence for Beneficiary (New Office) [2 USCIS-PM L.8(B)].

[^ 5] See Matter of Vaillancourt (PDF), 13 I&N Dec. 654 (Reg. Comm. 1970).

[^ 6] See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(4)(i)(A).

[^ 7] See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(4)(i).

[^ 8] See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(4)(iv)(B) and 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(G).

[^ 9] See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(17)(v).

[^ 10] See Volume 10, Employment Authorization, Part B, Specific Categories, Chapter 2, Employment-Based Nonimmigrants [10 USCIS-PM B.2].

[^ 11] USCIS issues an Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766) as evidence of employment authorization.

[^ 12] See 8 CFR 214.2(l)(17)(v) and 8 CFR 248.3(e).