Chicago L-1A Visa Attorney for General Managers

Illinois Immigration Lawyer for Executives

General managers and other executives who are foreign nationals working for a branch or subsidiary of a U.S. company may be eligible for the L-1A nonimmigrant visa.  The business immigration lawyers at the Shapiro Law Group have more than 30 years of experience helping businesses with intracompany transfers of managers and other executives to ensure that the proper visa requirements are fulfilled.

L-1 Visa Eligibility Requirements for General Managers and Executives

General managers and other executives are eligible for an L-1A visa if the general manager or executive:

• Has been employed by the sponsoring company outside of the United States as a manager or other executive for at least one continuous year (or six months if the sponsoring company has received a blanket L-1 approval) out of the previous three years;
• Has been employed outside of the United States by the subsidiary, affiliate or parent company of the U.S. employer that is sponsoring the manager or executive; and
• Is transferring to a managerial or executive position.

Who Qualifies as an “Executive” or a “Manager?”

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to be considered an executive, the employee must:

• Direct the management of the organization or a major component or function of the organization;
• Establish the goals and policies of the organization, component, or function;
• Exercise wide latitude in discretionary decision-making; and
• Receive only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board of directors, or stockholders of the organization.

In order to be considered a “manager” for purposes of L-1A visa status, the foreign employee must:

• Manage the company, or a department, subdivision, function or component of the company;
• Supervise and control the work of other supervisors, professionals or managers, or manage an essential function within the company;
• Have the authority to hire and fire supervised employees or make recommendations for promotions; and
• Direct day to day operations within the employee’s authority.

View all our Practice Areas

Because the definition of “manager/executive” is subject to a strict interpretation and a detailed description of the job functions and duties must be provided with each L-1A visa petition, the assistance of a skilled business immigration attorney can be crucial to a successful application.  The knowledgeable employment visa attorneys at The Shapiro Law Group have considerable experienced helping business comply with the appropriate immigration and visa regulations when hiring and/or transferring managers and executives from foreign counties.

Authorization Period

A manager or executive is eligible to work in the United States pursuant to a valid L-1A visa for up to three years, and up to seven years pursuant to an L-1A transfer visa.  Spouses of general managers and executives that obtain an L-1A work visa are eligible for employment authorization pursuant to an L-2 employment visa.

More Than 30 Years of Experience with Employment Transfer Visas

The knowledgeable Chicago employment visa attorneys at The Shapiro Law Group have considerable skill, knowledge and experience helping businesses comply with employment immigration regulations when transferring managers and executives to U.S. business affiliates.  Contact one of our Chicago-area employment immigration attorneys at (847) 564-0712 to discuss your visa transfer needs.