Temporary Solutions (Non-immigrant Visas)
& Permanent Solutions (Immigrant Visas)

Our firm handles the following types of intracompany transferee and investment visas:

• L-1A Intracompany Transferee (Executive or Manager)
• E-2 Treaty Investor

The L-1A visa allows for the transfer of an Executive or Manager from a foreign office to a related U.S. office (meaning, to an affiliate, branch, parent, or subsidiary of the foreign entity).

This visa is also appropriate in instances where a foreign company does not yet have a related U.S. office but wishes to send an Executive or Manager to the United States with the specific purpose of establishing one.

In either scenario, either the foreign or U.S. entity (“Petitioner”) must request the visa on the Executive or Manager’s (“Beneficiary’s”) behalf. Specific legal requirements must be met through extensive documentation regarding: 1) the qualifying corporate relationship between the foreign and U.S. entities; 2) the companies’ operational and financial viability; 3) the Beneficiary’s qualifications and experience in working abroad for the foreign company for at least one (1) continuous year within the three (3) years immediately preceding entry into the U.S.; and 4) the “executive” or “managerial” nature of their prospective role in the U.S.

The initial validity of an L-1A visa will depend on whether the U.S. company is a pre-established office or a new (“startup”) office. If a new office, the government may allow the Beneficiary a maximum initial stay of one (1) year. If a pre-established office, it may grant the Beneficiary a maximum initial stay of three (3) years.

For all L-1A beneficiaries, requests for extensions of initial periods of stay may be granted in increments of up to an additional two (2) years, until the beneficiary has reached the maximum limit of seven (7) years. Regardless, L-1 Visa beneficiaries must intend to leave the U.S upon completion of their authorized stay. In instances of having already reached the maximum seven (7) years in L status, they could technically qualify for the same status again, but could only do so after working outside the U.S. for the company’s parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate for at least one (1) year.

The E-2 visa allows a national of a treaty country (a country with which the United States holds a treaty of commerce and navigation or a qualifying international agreement) to be admitted to the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a U.S. business. Employees of such a person, or of a qualifying organization, may also be eligible for the E-2 visa. An E-2 treaty investor must be seeking to enter the United States specifically to develop and direct the investment enterprise and must own at least 50% of it.

Qualified treaty investors and employees will be allowed a maximum initial stay of two (2) years. Requests for extension of stay or changes of status to E-2 classification may be granted in increments of up to two (2) years each. A major advantage of the E-2 visa is that, unlike for the L-1A, there is no limit to the number of extensions an E-2 nonimmigrant may be granted, so long as the company remains viable and legal requirements of the visa category continue to be met.

Both L-1A and E-2 visas permit close family members (spouses and children under 21 years of age) to accompany the Beneficiary or Investor by filing connected applications as derivatives, either at the same time as the principal, or afterwards. Once acquiring derivative status, children may enroll in school and spouses of L-1A and E-2 visa holders may typically work with any employer of their choosing without acquiring separate work permits, so long as their I-94 entry record notates their status as a spouse of an L-1A or E-2 visa holder. By contrast, L-1A beneficiaries and E-2 visa investors must work exclusively for the U.S. company tied to their petition.

As with any temporary worker visas, intracompany transferee and investor visas can be obtained via the change of status (“COS”) process, if one is already in the United States in a different status. Alternatively, the visa may be acquired via consular processing abroad. Regardless of the method, one must apply while having a passport with validity covering the desired time of temporary stay.

Importantly, the statuses of derivatives are dependent upon the intracompany transferee’s or treaty investor’s respective compliance with the conditions of his or her status. However, a child’s derivative status is automatically terminated once the child reaches the age of 21.