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L-1B Visa for Specialized Knowledge Staff

The L1B Visa is a non-immigrant visa allowing companies operating in the U.S. and abroad to transfer employees from the foreign operations to U.S. operations for up to 5 years. This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send a specialized knowledge employee to the United States to help establish one.

 

This category covers those with knowledge of the company’s products/services, research, systems, proprietary techniques, management, or procedures. Staff in this category are issued an L1B visa, initially for three years extendible to a maximum of 5 years.


 

Eligibility Criteria

The key to this visa is the knowledge of the beneficiary (candidate). Specialized knowledge means either special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization’s product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization’s processes and procedures.

 

To qualify for L-1B classification in this category, the employer must:

  • Have a qualifying relationship with a foreign company (parent company, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, collectively referred to as qualifying organizations); and

  • Currently be, or will be, doing business as an employer in the United States and in at least one other country directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the beneficiary’s stay in the United States as an L-1.  While the business must be viable, there is no requirement that it be engaged in international trade. 

 

For the purposes of this definition, “doing business” means the regular, systematic and continuous provision of goods and/or services by a qualifying organization, and does not include the mere presence of an agent or office of the qualifying organization in the United States and abroad.

Contact us to discuss your situation and see if the L-1B visa is appropriate to your needs.

(88  (888) 365-VISA (8472) 

       (561) 3-20-20-90

       Info@SonesLaw.com

       © 2025 Law Office of Andrew R. Sones

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