USA
- Who it fits
- Executives, managers, owner-founders
- What USCIS tests
- Executive or managerial duties, not the title
- Maximum stay
- 7 years
- Green card route
- EB-1C, no labor certification
- New office
- Allowed, if the year abroad was managerial too
- Under a blanket L
- Available
USA
Work
L-1 Visa: One company, two roles.
The L-1 visa moves an employee from a company's foreign office into its US office. Two tracks, L-1A for executives and managers and L-1B for specialized knowledge, with no lottery, no annual cap and no April filing window.
Written by Furkan Dogan·Updated October 2026
Quick answers
What is an L-1 visa?
The L-1 visa lets a multinational company transfer an employee from a foreign office to a related US office. The L-1A covers executives and managers, the L-1B covers specialized-knowledge employees. The US company files the petition with USCIS. There is no annual cap and no lottery.
Who qualifies for an L-1 visa?
An L-1 case has two sides. The US and foreign businesses must be related as parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. The employee must have worked for that organization abroad for one continuous year within the three years before admission to the US.
What is the difference between L-1A and L-1B?
The L-1A covers executive and managerial capacity and allows a maximum stay of seven years. The L-1B covers specialized knowledge and stops at five. The L-1A also supports the EB-1C green card, which skips labor certification. The L-1B has no direct green card route.
How long can you stay on an L-1 visa?
USCIS grants initial L-1 status for up to three years, or one year when the US office is new. Extensions come in increments of up to two years, to a maximum of seven years for L-1A holders and five years for L-1B holders.
The short version
What is the L-1 visa?
The L-1 visa is a US work visa for an employee a multinational company moves from a foreign office into a related US office.
It rests on two facts: you have already worked for that organization abroad, and the organization runs a real business on both sides of the border. USCIS never weighs the case against the US labor market, which is why there is no cap, no lottery, no wage-level ranking and no April filing window.
None
Annual cap
No lottery, year-round filing
3 years
Initial stay
One year for a new US office
7 years
Maximum stay
L-1A · five years on the L-1B
EB-1C
Green card
From the L-1A, no labor certification
The legal rule
Four conditions, one employer.
“An alien who, within 3 years preceding the time of his application for admission into the United States, has been employed continuously for one year by a firm or corporation... and who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to render his services to the same employer... in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge.”
One sentence, four conditions:
- 01
“The same employer”
The US and foreign businesses have to be related: parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. Ownership above 50 percent is the clean case, and control can also be shown through a joint venture veto or a voting agreement. Both sides must be trading, not merely registered.
- 02
“Employed continuously for one year”
One full year of full-time work abroad for the organization. Part-time months do not add up to it, and days spent inside the US do not count toward it. Short business trips do not break the year, but they do push the finish line back.
- 03
“Within 3 years preceding”
The qualifying year has to sit somewhere in the three years before you arrive. It does not have to be the most recent job. Someone who spent a year at the foreign parent, then two years elsewhere, can still be transferred back.
- 04
“Managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge”
The capacity you are coming to fill, and the phrase that splits the L-1 in two. Managers and executives take the L-1A. Specialized-knowledge employees take the L-1B. The job abroad and the job in the US do not have to match.
Purpose & background
Why does the
L-1 visa exist?
After the 1965 reforms, moving a senior person from a London office to a New York office was as hard as hiring a stranger. Congress wrote the L category in 1970 to close that gap.
The test is a business relationship, not a job opening: nobody in an L-1 case is asked whether an American could do the work.
How the category was built
- 1970
Congress creates the L category in Public Law 91-225, adding intracompany transferees to the statute for the first time.
- 1990
The Immigration Act of 1990 sets the seven- and five-year limits and the one-year-in-three rule, and adds the function manager.
- 2004
The L-1 Visa Reform Act limits placing L-1B workers at another company's sites, after the category was used for outsourcing.
- 2023
USCIS confirms that a sole proprietorship cannot petition for its owner, since it is not a separate legal entity.
The L family
L-1 visa types.
The L-1A and L-1B split by what you do, and the L-2 covers the family. One company relationship sits under all three.
Spouse and children
L-2 Visa
The family of an L-1 holder. Spouses admitted in L-2S status can start a job without a separate work permit. Children can study at any level.
Pre-approved relationship
Blanket L
Not a visa but a shortcut. Large organizations get the company relationship approved once, then send employees straight to a consulate.
Which side are you on?
L-1A vs L-1B: which visa fits your role?
USCIS reads the split off your duties, not your job title. The L-1A covers people who run the organization or an essential part of it; the L-1B covers people whose company knowledge nobody on the US side can replace.
- Who it fits
- Engineers, technical leads, product specialists
- What USCIS tests
- Special or advanced company knowledge, measured against the industry
- Maximum stay
- 5 years
- Green card route
- No direct route; labor certification first
- New office
- Allowed, with premises and the means to pay
- Under a blanket L
- Only for specialized knowledge professionals
The job abroad does not have to match the US job: a manager can transfer as a specialist and a specialist as a manager, except into a new office.
L-1 visa stats
L-1 visa
approval rates.
Both L-1 approval rates climbed every year from FY 2022 to FY 2025, to the strongest figures in at least four years.
L-1A visa approval rate
91.8%
of L-1A petitions approved in FY 2025
Executive or manager
- 84.9%FY 2022
- 88.5%FY 2023
- 90.8%FY 2024
- 91.8%FY 2025
L-1B visa approval rate
92.3%
of L-1B petitions approved in FY 2025
Specialized knowledge
- 81.0%FY 2022
- 84.4%FY 2023
- 89.8%FY 2024
- 92.3%FY 2025
Approvals dipped to 90.4 percent (L-1A) and 90.8 percent (L-1B) in the last quarter of FY 2025. Rates are approvals as a share of decided petitions, from the NFAP Policy Brief of April 2026 on USCIS data.
FAQL-1 Visa
L-1 Visa
Common Questions.
Yes. Spouses admitted in L-2S status hold work permission as part of that status, so they do not need a separate work permit before starting a job. Children under 21 also get L-2 status and can study, but the L-2 does not give them permission to work.
Yes. A business with no US operations can incorporate a US entity and file through it, which is the new office route. USCIS approves that first petition for one year rather than three. The company shows secured premises, a real trading business abroad, and a plan the role fits inside that year.
No. The L-1 has no annual quota and no lottery. A qualifying employer can file at any point in the year, and USCIS decides the petition on its merits rather than against a limited pool of slots. Timing is set by when the role and the evidence are ready.
Generally no. L-1 status is tied to the company that filed the petition and its related entities. An unrelated employer cannot take over an L-1 because the one year of qualifying work abroad cannot be met from inside the US. Moving employers means changing to a different status.
A blanket L is an advance approval of the company relationship, filed once by large organizations that transfer people regularly. With one in place the employer skips the individual petition and the employee applies at a consulate using Form I-129S. Blanket denial rates run far below individual petitions.
Sources
USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 2, Part L (uscis.gov) · INA §101(a)(15)(L) · 8 CFR §214.2(l) · 9 FAM 402.12 · NFAP Policy Brief, April 2026, on USCIS denial data
USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 2, Part L · 8 CFR §214.2(l) · INA §101(a)(15)(L)
2–6 months
$10,000–$13,500
Not sure which L-1 fits your role?
Take the 3-minute eligibility check. We tell you which track, L-1A or L-1B, your role points to, and what the company side still has to prove.