Top 7 Questions on the L-1 Business Visa Answered by an Immigration Lawyer
In this video an immigration attorney answers the top 7 questions on the L-1 Business Visa. The L-1 Business visa is a very powerful immigration option for people to transfer form a foreign company to a related US company.
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In this video we answer the following questions regarding the L-1 Business Visa.
– What is the L-1 Business Visa?
– What are the benefits of an L-1 Visa?
– What are the L-1 Business Visa requirements?
– Does the L-1 Visa require special rules for new office petitions?
– What documents are needed to apply for an L-1 Business Visa?
– L1 Visa extensions?
– How to go from and L-1 Business Visa to a green card?
DISCLAIMER
This video is intended for education purposes and should not be taken as immigration, legal or tax advice. You should consult with your financial and immigration professionals about your unique financial and immigration situation before acting on anything discussed in these videos. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc., and Freedom Immigration International Inc. is providing educational content to help small business owners and individuals become more aware of certain issues and topics, but we cannot give blanket advice to a broad audience. Freedomtax Accounting and Multiservices Inc., nor Freedom Immigration International Inc. members cannot be held liable for any use or misuse of this content.
#l1visa #immigration #immigrationattorney #l1visarequirements #l1visacost
Transcript
Carlos: Hello from Freedom Group. We are a group of four companies where we are providing tax and accounting services, immigration, real estate strategies, insurance and financial planning. And in this video, we’re going to bring you the top seven questions regarding the immigration L-one visa. For that I’m going to bring our attorney Roberto Montalvo. How are you Roberto?
Roberto: I’m good Carlos. How are you?
Carlos: Good. Good. Roberto is an immigration attorney that works here at Freedom Immigration. So, Roberto, people have many questions regarding the L-1 visa, because it’s a very good visa that immigration provides, especially for business owners and investors. What exactly is the L-1 visa?
Roberto: Well, the L-1 visa is a nonimmigrant visa that allows a foreign company to send either a manager, executive or specialized knowledge employee, to the U.S. to work for a branch office, parent or subsidiary or affiliate company of the foreign company.
Carlos: Okay, perfect. Obviously, what are the benefits that the L-1 visa has over other immigration visas?
Roberto: Well, it’s a dual intent visa, which means that it can then change from when you come in on this temporary visa and then plan on obtaining a U.S. residency. It also allows you to work in the US for between a maximum of five to seven years under this visa, your spouse and your unmarried children can accompany you and it is also eligible for premium processing. There are no visa limits that immigration imposes on these visas.
Carlos: Cool. So obviously, what are their requirements to get an L-1 visa?
Roberto: There must be a qualifying relationship between the foreign company and the U.S. affiliate. It must be like a branch company must have similar owners, they must be engaged in a similar type of business. And both jobs must be the managerial executive or specialized knowledge.
Carlos: Yeah, I think that’s one of the advantages that we have here our Freedom Group is that we can provide a more complete consultations for foreign business owners want to get this L-1 visa because we not only provide them with the immigration consultation, we can also help them in the legal structure of the new business, the tax structure of the new business over here. And that’s why it makes us like this one stop shop for foreign business owners that want to get this L-1 visa in the States. Now, Robert, one of the other questions people have concerning the L-1 visa is, are there any special rules for the new office petition for the L-1 visa?
Roberto: Well, yes, if the U.S. business has been operating for less than a year, it is much more highly scrutinized. And then also, they only give you the visa for one year. And the company must show physical premises in the U.S., they must show the financial ability to support the position. And that’s basically it. It’s just much more highly scrutinized. Because if you have a business that has been operating for a longer time, then it’s much easier to obtain than if it’s a brand-new company.
Carlos: And then to get an f1 visa what documentation is required?
Roberto: Well, this is like a very simple list, but you need a copy of your passport, your resumes, detailed job description, and general company information.
Carlos: Okay. And obviously all these foreign business owners that when I get some kind of immigration visa, our business visa in the States, no matter what type of visa they’re going after, they’re always asking for extensions. So, what are the extensions on the L-1 visa?
Roberto: Well, there’s, like I mentioned, there’s two types. There’s the L-1A, which is for managers and executives, that one unless it’s a new business, they initially give it for three years, and then you can renew it for up to a total of seven years in two-year extensions. And then the specialized knowledge one, they give it to you initially for two years, and then you can renew it for up to a maximum of five years with one-year extensions.
Carlos: Okay. And obviously a lot of these foreign investors and business owners want to come in, maybe get a green card. Can these people get a green card via the L-1 visa?
Roberto: Not directly, but if they come to the U.S. on an L-1 visa and then either their company can petition for them or they can also get married and they their spouse could petition for them, but it will be illegal entry and they will be able to adjust status from Elwen to a different status if they qualify. Okay,
Carlos: So, basically, they come in under the L-1. And once they’re here, then later on, they can change their status with another.
Roberto: Correct.
Carlos: Okay, yeah. And obviously they always ask about family members and children. Can they bring their spouse and children with the L-1 visa?
Roberto: Yes, they can bring their spouses, their spouses can also qualify for a work permit, and they can bring all their children under 21.
Carlos: Okay, so in your opinion as an immigration attorney, is the L-1 visa a good option for foreign business owners to come into the U.S. legally?
Roberto: Well, yes, because if you own the business, you are an executive of the business and this visa gives you an ability to transfer from the foreign company to the US company for a prolonged time for approximately up to seven years. And then you can decide if you want to pursue other types of visas or even legal permanent residents in the U.S. Exactly.
Carlos: So now you know, these are the top seven questions regarding the L-1 visa. If you are a foreign business owner and are interested in getting an L-1 visa contact Freedom Immigration, their phone number is 407-910-4770. We are also going to put a link to the Freedom Immigration website in the description of this video. And I emphasize that working with the Freedom Group makes your L-1 visa process a lot easier since we are able to provide a more complete consultation. Because getting these L-1 visas, the way you start and open your business structure in the U.S. has to be done in a very specific way in order for your U.S. based business to apply for this L-1 visa. And in Freedom Group we will make sure that your new business in the US is structured legally and for tax purposes correctly, so you can get your L-1 visa approved. Okay.
Well, thank you for watching this video. If you have received value out of this information, please like it, share it with other business owners. And remember, visit their Freedom Immigration website. I am putting the link in the description below. Thank you for watching. God bless you. Bye.
Roberto: Bye.