Learning about the U.S. Immigration System: The L Visa

Lei Mei is a citizen of China who has been working at a technology company in China for four years. She is a manager at the company, overseeing three employees on various projects. Her company has offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, London, and Boston. Her company recently decided to transfer Lei Mei to the Boston office to start a new department within the company. Lei Mei needs to be in Boston within a month and wants to know if her husband will be able to work in the United States.

Lei Mei’s company should consider applying for an L visa. L visas are available to executives, managers, and those who have specialized knowledge of a company. To be eligible for an L visa, the company must have been in existence for at least three years and the U.S. office of the company must have been open for at least a year. Therefore, for businesspeople who are interested in immigrating to the United States through a new company, the L visa is not the right visa option for them. Additionally, the transferring employee, who in this case is Lei Mei, must have worked for the company for at least a year prior to the transfer.

For those companies and employees that qualify, the L visa is a great option. Unlike an H-1B application, there is no requirement that a company try to find a U.S. citizen who is qualified and willing to take the job. For those companies that have applied for H-1Bs in the past, they understand how expensive the recruitment process can be. With the L visa, this process can be completely avoided. Additionally, there is an option for premium processing with the L visa. Premium processing allows a company, for an additional fee, to have their visa application expedited. In this case, that would greatly enhance the chances of Lei Mei being able to start working at the Boston office within the month.

Finally, the L visa allows spouses and children of the visa holder to work while in the United States. Not only can the spouses and children work, but there is no limit on the type of work that they are allowed to do and no work authorization application is required. This is a rarity among U.S. visas.

Lei Mei and her husband will soon be able to come to the United States with an L visa. Her company will appreciate the ease of transferring her to the United States and her husband will enjoy the ability to work as he joins his wife in Boston.

Keith A. Pabian, Esq. is an Immigration Attorney at Pabian & Russell, LLC and is conversant in Mandarin Chinese. Mr. Pabian can be reached at (617) 951-3721 or by email at kpabian@pabianrussell.com if you would like to schedule a free consultation or are in need of immigration assistance or advice.