Companies transferring employees to the US typically rely on six main visa categories — nonimmigrant L-1, O-1, and H-1B, and immigrant EB-1C, EB-1A, and EB-3 — each with its own requirements for the company and the employee.
In short
- L-1 is issued for up to 3 years, extendable to 7, after which the holder must move to an immigrant category such as EB-1C.
- EB-1C requires not just a year of tenure at the US office but proven significant success — a new product, revenue growth, or entry into a new market.
- O-1 has no formal cap on the number of renewals, unlike L-1’s 7-year limit.
- EB-1A allows filing a petition independently, without an employer’s offer — known as self-petition.
- The $100,000 H-1B fee applies only to applicants filing from abroad through a consulate; it does not apply to a status change filed within the US.
L-1 visa (L-1A/L-1B): transferring an employee within a company
L-1 is a nonimmigrant visa for transferring an employee from a company’s foreign office to its US subsidiary. It is issued for up to three years and can then be extended to a maximum of seven years, after which the holder either leaves the country or moves to an immigrant category.
There are two subtypes within L-1. L-1A is for an employee who holds a senior position and manages a team or department. L-1B is for an employee with specialized expertise and unique knowledge not tied to managing people.
What sets this category apart is that the requirements fall more on the company than on the employee.
What sets this category apart is that the requirements fall more on the company than on the employee.
Requirements for the company
- the foreign and US offices must be related — as a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate;
- the company must have been doing business for at least one year: selling goods, services, or solutions, and showing profit or revenue sufficient to support the US office;
- the US office must have the budget to pay the transferred employee’s salary — in some cases this is confirmed with a company bank statement showing enough funds to cover this employee along with other staff at the branch.
Requirements for the employee
- at least one year of tenure at the company by the time of filing;
- for a transfer into a managerial role (L-1A) in the US, the employee must hold a position no lower than the previous one and manage a defined number of subordinates — this is referred to as managerial capacity;
- the US salary must meet the prevailing wage for a comparable position — the company either keeps the employee’s existing rate or raises it to meet that threshold.
The petition is built on documents confirming all these points: the relationship between the offices, the employee’s tenure and employment, and the company’s business activity. Once Form I-129 is approved, the employee moves to the US on an L-1 visa and can later move to the next category.
L-1 transfers an employee within a company for up to 3 years, extendable to 7 years. Requirements focus mainly on the relationship between the offices and the company’s finances, not just the employee.
EB-1C: how L-1 turns into a green card
EB-1C is an immigrant category: unlike L-1, it leads to a green card and eventually citizenship. In essence, it’s the logical continuation of L-1 — the requirements for the qualifying relationship between the companies and for the employee’s position are nearly identical. The one difference: the employee must show that, during their time working at the US office — at least a year — they drove significant success for the company.
Success can mean, for example, launching a new product, entering a new line of business, growing revenue, or bringing in a certain number of users — the specific metric depends on what the company does. When filing the petition, the employee must have at least a year of tenure directly at that company, and the employer must show intent to continue the employment relationship.
Another requirement concerns the finances of the US company itself: it must be profitable enough to cover employee payroll. Once the petition is approved, the employee receives a green card and becomes a permanent resident of the US.
Qualifying for EB-1C takes more than a year of work at the US office — the applicant must show specific, measurable success: a new product, revenue growth, or entry into a new market.
O-1 visa: talent with no cap on renewals
O-1 is a nonimmigrant category: like L-1, it does not lead to a green card. But unlike L-1, which caps renewals at seven years, O-1 has no formal limit on the number of extensions — the status can be renewed indefinitely as long as the employment relationship continues and the applicant keeps meeting the visa’s criteria.
O-1 is known as the talent visa: it requires the employee to demonstrate extraordinary achievement. The bar is lower than for the immigrant EB-1A — its counterpart category — but a certain level of accomplishment is still required to apply.
O-1 is known as the talent visa: it requires the employee to demonstrate extraordinary achievement.
Requirements for the employer are minimal: the company must show it is registered in the US, has issued the employee an offer, and that the offer has been or will be accepted. If these conditions are met, nothing further is usually required. In some cases a company bank statement may be requested to confirm it can cover the salary, but in practice such requests are rare.
EB-1A: a green card without an employer’s offer
EB-1A is not an employer-sponsored visa and does not require a job offer: the employee applying under this category files the petition independently — known as self-petition — without needing an employer at all.
EB-1A is not an employer-sponsored visa and does not require a job offer: the employee applying under this category files the petition independently
Still, the category is useful for an employer who wants to bring an employee to the US: EB-1A includes a requirement to continue work in the field — the applicant must show organized commitments within the US. These are commitments confirming that the applicant will keep working as an outstanding professional in their stated field.
A job offer from a company satisfies this requirement: the offer counts as organized commitments, so there’s no need to separately prove intent to continue working in the US.
H-1B: the lottery and the $100,000 fee for applicants filing from abroad
H-1B is another category for work-based immigration to the US, and before filing for the visa itself, the employer must enter the employee into the lottery on their behalf — without winning, filing isn’t possible.
The $100,000 fee that’s been discussed in connection with the September fee increase doesn’t apply to every applicant. It only applies to those filing for H-1B from outside the US who go through consular processing. If the employee is already in the US and is changing status to H-1B (change of status, Form I-539), this fee does not apply.
The qualification requirement for H-1B is single: the applicant’s education or qualifications must match the company’s posted position. Labor certification from the Department of Labor is not required for this category — which is why the overall filing timeline is noticeably shorter than for categories where such certification is mandatory.
The $100,000 fee applies only to those filing for H-1B from abroad through a consulate. If the status change happens while already in the US (Form I-539), the fee doesn’t apply.
EB-3: a green card through Department of Labor certification
EB-3 is another immigrant category, meaning it leads straight to a green card rather than a temporary visa. Filing requires two conditions: the company has an open position, and the candidate’s qualifications match that position. In this sense, EB-3 resembles H-1B — the requirements for the employee are the same.
The difference lies in labor certification. While H-1B doesn’t require it, EB-3 requires confirmation from the Department of Labor: before the employer gets the green light to transfer or hire the foreign employee, it must prove that no qualified candidates were found for the position in the state or nationwide. This process is what drives the timeline: the overall process takes one and a half to three years, depending on how quickly the Department of Labor stage moves.
Department of Labor certification is the longest stage of EB-3: the whole process can take one and a half to three years depending on how fast that review moves.
US work and immigrant visas: key differences
Table scrolls sideways
| Criterion | L-1 | EB-1C | O-1 | EB-1A | H-1B | EB-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Nonimmigrant | Immigrant (green card) | Nonimmigrant | Immigrant (green card) | Nonimmigrant | Immigrant (green card) |
| Offer/employer required | Yes, intracompany transfer | Yes, same office | Yes, offer from US company | No, self-petition | Yes, lottery entry | Yes, open position |
| Duration / renewal | Up to 3 years, extendable to 7 | Permanent (green card) | No formal cap on renewals | Permanent (green card) | Depends on lottery and status | 1.5–3 years to process |
| Department of Labor certification | Not required | Not required | Not required | Not required | Not required | Required |
| Distinct requirement | Relationship and finances between offices | Employee’s significant success within a year | Extraordinary achievement | Organized commitments in the stated field | $100,000 fee when filing from abroad | No qualified candidates found in the US |
The comparison is built on the requirements described in the article for each category.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone move from L-1 to a green card if they hold L-1B rather than L-1A
The material describes the move from L-1 to EB-1C as a continuation of the same managerial logic: the requirements for the qualifying relationship between the companies and for the position are nearly identical to L-1, and the key additional condition is showing significant success the employee achieved during a year of work at the US office. The material doesn’t separate EB-1C eligibility by L-1A versus L-1B, so what matters is not the L-1 subtype but the fact of achieving that success along with tenure at the company.
Can someone file for EB-1A without an offer if the employer wants to bring the employee to the US
Yes: EB-1A is a self-petition — the employee files on their own, and no employer is needed for that. But if the employer is willing to provide an offer, it satisfies the organized commitments requirement, so there’s no separate need to prove intent to continue working in the US.
Can someone change employers while staying on an O-1 visa
The material states that renewing O-1 is only possible while the employment relationship with the sponsoring employer continues and the applicant still meets the visa’s criteria. This indicates the status is tied to a specific employment relationship rather than to the employee independent of the company.
What happens to an H-1B petition if the lottery was won but the employee then leaves the US and files from abroad
According to the material, what matters for the $100,000 fee isn’t winning the lottery but where the application is filed from: the fee applies only to those going through consular processing outside the US. If the applicant is abroad at the time of filing rather than changing status from within the US, the fee will apply.
Can the EB-3 processing time be shortened if the employer already searched for candidates for the position before
The material ties the EB-3 timeline specifically to the Department of Labor certification stage — the employer must prove no qualified candidates were found for the position in the country. The overall process takes one and a half to three years depending on how quickly that stage moves; the material doesn’t provide separate data on speeding this up based on prior searches.
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