The L-1 visa allows foreign company owners to open a branch in the USA and obtain status, while the spouse can work. It’s one of the most reliable ways for entrepreneurs to relocate: with proper preparation, the approval rate exceeds 90%, the visa can be extended for up to 7 years, and you can then transition to a green card through the EB-1C program.

Requirements for the Applicant and Company

To qualify for an L-1 visa, the applicant must be an owner or manager of a company that exists outside the USA. Citizenship and jurisdiction do not matter — the key is that the company must be real.

The applicant must hold a managerial position. This can be company president, director, commercial director, or department head. An important condition: this position must have been held for at least one year within the past three years.

The applicant must oversee a three-level organizational structure: the manager themselves, other managers, and operational staff. The structure can be within a separate department or span the entire company. Example: a sales department director with several regional managers under them, and managers under each. Or a CEO with four division directors (procurement, sales, marketing, finance) and employees in each.

Connection Between Foreign and American Companies

There must be an affiliation—common control—between the company outside the USA and a new or existing company in the USA. This can be:

  • one company owns the other;
  • one person or group owns both companies;
  • one person and a company, or several people and companies own both firms in roughly equal shares.

The key point: both enterprises must be under the same management.

Requirements for the American Company

If a new company is being launched (startup), you must have office premises secured for one year and a business plan. The plan must show how the company will grow to five employees by the end of the first year.

For an existing company in the USA that has been operating for some time, the requirement is different: you must plan to grow to eight employees within several years.

Advantages of the L-1 Visa

The L-1 visa has no quota: as many applications as are submitted will be approved. It is a dual intent visa—at the embassy, you do not need to prove that the applicant will return to their home country. Conversely, the program allows for the possibility that they may not.

Review proceeds on an expedited basis: approval is possible within 15 days of filing.

The spouse will receive an L2 visa, which grants the right to work in the USA—this is rare for family visas. Children can attend American schools free of charge. The visa can be extended for up to seven years, providing flexibility in achieving immigration goals.

Интерьер современного офиса с открытой планировкой и работниками у столов

Transition to Green Card Through EB-1C

The path from L-1 to permanent status is called EB-1C—a sister program with similar criteria but slightly different scale requirements.

For EB-1C approval, you need to:

  • grow the US company to a minimum of eight employees;
  • work in the USA for at least one year;
  • the company must be financially independent, covering its own expenses and payroll. If the company is profitable—this is a big plus, though not required.

The affiliated company outside the USA must continue operating—the connection between the two enterprises cannot be severed.

Timeline for Obtaining Visas

From the start of the process to green card approval typically takes about two years on average:

  • 6 months for L-1 review;
  • 2–3 months for the embassy process;
  • relocation to the USA;
  • work in the USA for one year (during which preparation of EB-1C documents begins in parallel);
  • 6 months working on EB-1C and filing it;
  • 45 days for expedited EB-1C review;
  • status change process within the USA.

All told, this can take slightly more than two years depending on how quickly the final stage proceeds.