|
This office has helped hundreds of international companies bring existing employees from their companies abroad to the United States on L-1 Visas. You can qualify for an L-1 visa if you have been employed outside the U.S. as a manager, executive or person with specialized knowledge for at least one out of the past three years, and you are transferred to the U.S. to be employed in a similar position. The U.S. company to which you are transferring to must be either a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture to a foreign company. They are defined as follows:
Branch - different operating locations of the same company.
Affiliate - one common person or business entity to own at least 50% of the foreign company (company outside the U.S.) and 50% of the U.S. company. If one person does not own at least 50% of both the U.S. and foreign company, then each owner of the foreign company should own the equal amount of both the U.S. and foreign company.
Subsidiary - one company should own the controlling percentage of the other company.
Joint venture - no common ownership between the companies, but they must share a common business operation or project and each company must have veto power over decisions, take an equal share of the profits and bear the losses on an equal basis.
Furthermore, in order to qualify for an L-1 visa, the foreign company must demonstrate that it will remain in operation when the employee is transferred to the United States on an L-1 visa.
The L-1 Visa can be issued for a total of seven years if coming to the United States to work in a Managerial or Executive capacity and five years if coming to the United States to work with specialized knowledge. If you are coming to the United States to establish the U.S. company, the L-1 visa will be issued for one year. After the one year, the employer can petition the INS to extend it for an additional three years at a time, but no more than the maximum amount of time. Accompanying relatives such as a spouse and children under the age of 21 can receive an L-2 visa. Most recently, the INS has begun to issue employment authorization cards to accompanying relatives so long as they fill out the necessary application and apply to their local INS office.
The L-1 visa is the only non-immigrant visa which allows the employee to file for permanent residency directly, without having to file for labor certification and obtain approval from the Department of Labor.
In order to file for a L-1 Visa, the following documents are required along with the application and required filing fee:
U.S. COMPANY DOCUMENTS
Proof of employment abroad for the employee being transferred.
Lease Agreement.
Wire transfers to evidence that the foreign company is paying for all the costs of establishing the U.S. company.
Recent bank statements.
Stock certificates and stock ledger if the U.S. company is a corporation.
Pictures of the establishment, showing the outside sign and suite number if any, employees, inventory, etc.
Receipts of assets purchased for the company.
W-2 or W-3's for existing employees.
An organizational chart evidencing the hierarchy of its employees, specifically where the transferred employee falls within the organizational chart.
Three (3) most recent tax returns
Three (3) most recent annual reports
Purchase orders, receipts regarding the operation of the business.
Articles of Incorporation and other corporate documents.
Company brochure.
Business license.
Other miscellaneous documents.
FOREIGN COMPANY
Wire transfers to evidence that the foreign company is paying for all the costs of establishing the U.S. company.
Recent bank statements.
Pictures of the establishment, showing the outside sign and suite number if any, employees, inventory, etc.
Employee payroll records.
An organizational chart evidencing the hierarchy of its employees, specifically where the transferred employee falls within the organizational chart.
Three (3) most recent tax returns.
Three (3) most recent annual reports.
Other financial records.
Company brochure.
Purchase orders, receipts regarding the operation of the business.
Business registration or related documents.
Other miscellaneous documents.
TRANSFERRED EMPLOYEE DOCUMENTS
Three (3) recent tax returns as it relates to the employment with the foreign company.
Birth certificate.
Passport and Form I-94 if applying for change of status.
Curriculum vitae.
Certificates, diplomas and school transcripts.
Proof that you have been employed as a Manager, Executive or person with Specialized Knowledge with the foreign company for one year in the preceding three years.
Again, it is vital to demonstrate the qualifying relationship between the two companies, depending on the type of entity which exists in the United States whether it be a branch, affiliate, subsidiary or joint venture. Please seek the assistance of a qualified attorney to properly advise you before proceeding in filing for an L-1 visa.
|
