Visa Library
L-1A Intracompany Transferee, Executive or Manager
Intracompany transfer for executives and managers — file at any time, no lottery, with a path to EB-1C green card.
You have worked abroad as an executive or manager for a company that has, or is establishing, a related US entity. The L-1A lets that company transfer you to the US to perform an executive or managerial role.
Editorial summary
Transfer executives or managers from a foreign office to a related US entity.
Who it's for
- Executives and managers at multinational companies opening or expanding US operations
- Founders who have built a foreign entity and are launching a related US entity
- Senior leaders with at least one continuous year of qualifying foreign employment in the prior three years
Eligibility
- One continuous year of qualifying foreign employment in the prior three years.
- The foreign and US entities must have a qualifying relationship (parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate).
- The role both abroad and in the US must be primarily executive or managerial under USCIS standards.
- Functional managers (managing a critical function rather than people) qualify, but the documentation standard is higher.
Process
Step 1
Document the corporate relationship
Provide ownership-and-control documentation tying the foreign entity to the US entity.
Step 2
Demonstrate the qualifying year abroad
Employment letters, payroll records, and role descriptions covering the qualifying year.
Step 3
Build the role specification
Detailed job description with executive or managerial duties — not technical or operational.
Step 4
File Form I-129 with L supplement
Including new-office documentation if applicable (lease, business plan, hiring plan).
Step 5
Consular processing or change of status
Standard L-1 visa interview if abroad; otherwise change of status from a current US visa category.
Timeline
- Documentation gathering: 4-6 weeks for established offices, 8-12 weeks for new offices
- USCIS adjudication standard: 2-4 months
- Premium processing: 15 calendar days
- New-office L-1A first year is conditional; full extension requires demonstrating active operations
Cost
- USCIS filing fee: $1,015
- Asylum Program Fee: $300 (small employers $150, nonprofits $0)
- Fraud prevention and detection fee: $500
- Premium processing (optional): $2,805
- Attorney fees: $4,000-$10,000 typical
Where it works
- No lottery; file year-round
- Direct EB-1C pathway to a green card without PERM labor certification
- L-2 spouses are work-authorized incident to status
- Dual intent permitted
Where it breaks
- Strict managerial-vs-operational evidentiary line; technical leads often struggle
- New-office cases face heightened scrutiny in year-one extensions
- Seven-year maximum stay if no green card progression
- Requires bona fide foreign entity — not viable for first-time entrepreneurs without an existing foreign company
Frequently asked
Can a startup founder qualify?
Yes if there is a real foreign entity with at least a year of operations and a qualifying year of executive or managerial employment. A foreign entity created weeks before the petition will not satisfy the qualifying-year requirement.
Does the foreign entity need to keep operating?
Yes — the qualifying corporate relationship must persist throughout the L-1 validity period.
Is there a lottery?
No. The L-1 is petition-based with no annual cap.
Can I bring my family?
Yes — spouse on L-2 (work-authorized) and children under 21 on L-2.
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Where to go next
The Library curates the best of external research and the four sister properties used to act on the evidence above.
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