Within the L-1 US business visa types, there are three sub-categories:

General: Specialized knowledge employees being transferred to an existing U.S. affiliated to their domestic employer.

New Offices: Specialized knowledge employees entering USA to help set up a new U.S. office for the employer.

Blanket Petitions: Multiple specialized knowledge employees being transferred to the U.S. office of the employer, without having to file individual applications for each employee.

The process of submitting a US business visa application under the L-1B classification varies depending on the applicant’s category:

General and New Offices

Stage 1: The employer must submit a Form I-129 (Petition for Non-immigrant Worker) to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Stage 2:  USCIS will issued a notice of receipt to the petitioner, and inform them of the biometrics appointment date.

Stage 3: After due processing, USCIS will grant or refuse the visa application.

Blanket Petitions

Stage 1: Employers can file a blanket L petition to USCIS.

Stage 2: If approved, the employer will typically send a completed Form I-129S (Non-immigrant Petition Based on blanket L Petition), a copy of the approval notice, and other requisite evidence, to the employee.

Stage 3: The employee will then present these documents to the consular officer, in relation to the L-1 visa application.

The L-1B US business visa requirements are also dependent on the applicant’s profile:

General

The employer should:

• Be engaged in a qualifying relationship with a foreign affiliate, branch, parent company, or subsidiary (known as a qualifying organization).
• Currently doing, or will be doing business in USA and one or more other countries – either directly or via a qualifying organization – for as long as the employee stays in USA as an L-1B visa holder. This business should be viable, but need not necessarily be concerned with international trade.
• Doing business implies that the qualifying organization should be providing goods and/or services continuously, regularly and systematically – not merely have an office or agent in USA and overseas.

The employee should:

• Have at least one year of continuous work experience with a qualifying organization outside USA, within the three years preceding admission to USA.
• Be entering USA to serve a branch of that same employer or a qualifying organization, in a specialized knowledge capacity.
• Specialized knowledge implies either special knowledge of the organization’s equipment, management, product, research, service, techniques or other interests (and the application of this knowledge in international markets) OR advanced degree of expertise/knowledge of the organization’s procedures and processes.

New Offices

• The employer should have secured adequate physical premises for the new office
• The employer should be financially capable of compensating the employee and commencing doing business in USA.

Blanket Petitions

• The petitioner and the qualifying organization(s) must be involved in commercial services and trade.
• The petitioner must have a U.S. office that has been doing business for at least one year.
• The petitioner should have at least three foreign affiliates, branches, and subsidiaries.
• The petitioner and the qualifying organization(s) together must fulfill one of the following parameters:
• Secured 10 or more L-1 visa approvals within the preceding three months.
• The U.S. affiliates or subsidiaries should have combined annual sales of $25 million or more.
• The U.S. workforce should include 1,000 or more employees.

The basic documents that the petitioner must submit as evidence of meeting the business visa USA requirements include:

• L Classification Supplement of Form I-129.
• If applicable, proof that the employee has maintained legal status.
• Proof of a qualifying ownership-control relationship between the U.S. employer and the foreing employer.
• Job description detailing the associated duties and required qualifications.
• Proof that the employment proposed will be in a specialized knowledge capacity.
• Proof that the employee was employed in a specialized knowledge position in the office outside USA for at least one continuous year.

New Office petitioners must provide the following documents:

• Job description detailing the associated duties and required qualifications.
• Proof that an appropriate physical office space has been leased, purchased, rented or otherwise acquired.
• Proof that the petitioner is financially capable of compensating the employee and commencing doing business in USA.