Visas and the queue

L-1 intracompany transferee

Also called L-1, L-1A, L-1B, intracompany transferee.

L-1 is temporary US work status for an employee a multinational moves into a US parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary, as an executive or manager under L-1A or in a specialized knowledge role under L-1B, after one continuous year of employment abroad with the same group of companies.

What it decides

That year must fall within the three years preceding the application for admission, not the filing of the petition, and time already spent in the United States for the same group neither interrupts it nor counts toward it. An employee sent to open a new office gets one year to start. Total stay caps at seven years for L-1A and five for L-1B, with time in H status counted against the same limits. L-1 is a dual intent status: 8 CFR 214.2(l)(16) bars USCIS from refusing an L-1 petition, its extension, admission as L-1 or L-2, or an extension of stay because the person filed a labor certification, an immigrant petition or an adjustment application. So an L-1 holder in the United States can file Form I-485 alongside or after the I-526E under 8 U.S.C. 1255(n), and 8 U.S.C. 1255(k) forgives an aggregate of up to 180 days out of status for fifth preference. The transferee's own job never counts toward the investor's ten: 8 CFR 204.6(e) excludes any nonimmigrant.

Governed by 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L) and 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(A) for the one continuous year abroad within the three years preceding application for admission and for the treatment of intervening US time; 8 CFR 214.2(l)(12) for the seven and five year limits and for H time counting against them; 8 CFR 214.2(l)(16) for dual intent, which is drawn wider than the statutory rule at 8 U.S.C. 1184(h) because it names the adjustment application expressly. USCIS, L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager, last updated 29 July 2024, for the one year initial stay on a new office. Concurrent filing is 8 U.S.C. 1255(n) and the 180 day forgiveness is 8 U.S.C. 1255(k), which the RIA extended to fifth preference in 2022; the nonimmigrant exclusion is 8 CFR 204.6(e).

Where this is explained properly

Pages here that go into l-1 intracompany transferee rather than mentioning it.

Related terms

H-1BH-1B is temporary US work status for a specialty occupation, meaning a job whose minimum requirement for entry is a bachelor's degree or higher in a directly related specific specialty, granted on an employer's petition and limited to six years of total stay under 8 U.S.C. 1184(g)(4).
EB-1C multinational managerEB-1C is the employment-based first preference subcategory for a manager or executive transferred to a United States employer from the same firm abroad or from its parent, subsidiary or affiliate, and it requires no investment, no job creation and no labor certification.
E-2 treaty investor visaThe E-2 treaty investor visa is a nonimmigrant classification for a national of a country holding a qualifying treaty of commerce and navigation with the United States who has invested, or is actively in the process of investing, a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide US enterprise and seeks entry solely to develop and direct it.
Concurrent filingConcurrent filing is submitting Form I-485 together with Form I-526 or I-526E, or while the petition is still pending, instead of waiting for the petition to be approved. 8 U.S.C. 1255(n) permits it whenever approval of the petition would make a visa immediately available to the investor.
Qualifying employeeA qualifying employee is a US citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or another immigrant lawfully authorized to be employed in the United States, and only their full-time positions count toward an investor's ten. The statute adds United States nationals to that list.

Checked against primary sources on 10 August 2026. Back to the glossary