Guide to U.S. Immigration

7. The L-1 Visa Category

The L-1 visa is becoming an increasingly popular visa for Japanese Managers especially since it is becoming more difficult for Japanese companies to obtain the number of E visas that they desire.

The L-1 visa is called the intercompany transferee visa. It requires that the US company (the Japanese subsidiary company) be a subsidiary, affiliate, or branch of the Japanese parent company. The Japanese parent company must own a majority interest (over 50%) in the US company (Japanese subsidiary company). However, under special circumstances which are discussed later in this guide, an L-1 visa can be obtained with less than a majority ownership interest.

The foreign employees must have worked for the parent company in Japan for at least one year within the past three years. The foreign employee must have been employed in Japan in an executive, managerial, or specialized knowledge position. The Immigration Service has issued regulations defining in detail the terms "executive", "managerial", and "specialized knowledge".

A managerial position means "an assignment within an organization in which the employee directs the organization of a customarily recognized department or subdivision of the organization, controls the work of other employees, has the authority to hire and fire or recommend those actions as well as other personnel actions (promotion, leave authorization, etc.) and exercises discretionary authority over day to day operations. This does not include the first line level of supervision unless the employees supervised are managerial or professional." This definition includes management of a function without supervising subordinates directly.

An executive position means "an assignment within an organization in which the employee directs the management of an organization and establishes organizational goals and policies, exercises a wide latitude of discretionary decision-making, and receives only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the business."

A specialized knowledge position means "knowledge possessed by an individual of the 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 process and procedures."

An example of a special knowledge position would be an engineer with experience and knowledge of specialized product, for example, a particular make of Japanese automobile. Another example would be a computer analyst with knowledge of proprietary Japanese computer software.

Like the H-1B visa, a petition for the issuance of an L-1 visa is filed at the nearest Citizenship & Immigration Services Office. The initial approval period is three years. One or two extensions are possible depending of the circumstances. The maximum stay under an L-1 visa is seven years for executive and management positions and five years for specialized knowledge positions. After the approval is issued, it is sent to the American Embassy/Consulate in Japan for processing and issuance.