New York City — All Five Boroughs
Multinational companies transferring managers, executives, and specialized knowledge employees to New York offices rely on L-1 visas. Mandi Law Group handles L-1A, L-1B, new office petitions, extensions, and the path from L-1 to a permanent EB-1C green card. Call (518) 698-0347.
New York City is the U.S. headquarters for hundreds of multinational corporations with offices in London, Tokyo, Mumbai, Frankfurt, São Paulo, and beyond. The L-1 intracompany transferee visa is the primary mechanism for these companies to move their global talent to New York. Whether establishing a new office, expanding an existing one, or transferring a long-term executive, Mandi Law Group provides complete L-1 visa services for companies and employees.
Call (518) 698-0347 to discuss your company's L-1 needs or your individual L-1 transfer to New York.
The L-1A visa is for multinational company managers and executives transferring to a U.S. office. Managers must manage people, a function, or a component of the organization. Executives must direct the organization or a major component and have wide latitude in decision-making. L-1A holders can stay up to 7 years total. The L-1A also leads directly to the EB-1C green card — the fastest employer-sponsored employment-based green card category.
The L-1B visa is for employees with specialized knowledge of the petitioning company's products, services, research, equipment, techniques, management, or procedures. Specialized knowledge must be beyond ordinary proficiency and not widely available in the U.S. labor market. L-1B holders can stay up to 5 years total. We build L-1B petitions demonstrating the specificity and uniqueness of the employee's specialized knowledge about the company's proprietary systems.
Multinational companies opening a new U.S. office can transfer a qualifying employee on an L-1 new office visa, granted for 1 year. After 1 year, the U.S. entity must demonstrate it has grown sufficiently to support a manager or executive to continue the L-1. We advise companies on the organizational and financial milestones needed to support the L-1 extension and prepare new office petitions with the required business plan.
Large multinational corporations that meet certain criteria can file a blanket L petition, allowing individual employees to obtain L-1 visas directly at U.S. consulates abroad without individual I-129 petitions. We advise companies on blanket petition eligibility and prepare blanket approvals that streamline the transfer process for companies with multiple New York transferees.
L-1 visas require extension petitions when the initial period expires. L-1A and L-1B extensions must re-demonstrate eligibility. Amendments are required when there are material changes in the employment — change in job duties, location, or employer entity. We file extensions and amendments proactively to prevent status gaps and prepare documentation showing continued qualifying employment.
L-1A managers and executives have a direct path to an EB-1C green card — the fastest employer-sponsored employment-based permanent residence category with no per-country backlog. We advise L-1A holders and their employers on timing the EB-1C petition to maximize green card priority and minimize years of nonimmigrant status dependency.
The L-1 intracompany transferee visa allows multinational companies to transfer employees from a foreign affiliate, subsidiary, or parent to a U.S. office. To qualify, the employee must: (1) have worked for the foreign company in a qualifying capacity (managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge) for at least 1 continuous year within the 3 years before the transfer; and (2) be coming to the U.S. to work in a qualifying capacity. The U.S. and foreign entities must have a qualifying relationship — parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate. New York City is one of the top destinations for L-1 transferees, with companies in finance, technology, media, consulting, law, and trade regularly using L-1 to staff their New York offices.
L-1A is for managers and executives. Managers direct other employees or manage a function, component, or department. Executives direct major components or functions with wide latitude in decision-making. L-1B is for employees with specialized knowledge — knowledge of the company's products, services, techniques, or procedures that is special and not widely distributed. The practical difference matters for the green card: L-1A leads directly to EB-1C (no per-country backlog, no PERM, fastest employment-based green card). L-1B leads to EB-2 or EB-3, which require PERM and, for Indian and Chinese nationals, decades-long waits. For companies establishing New York offices, we advise on structuring roles to qualify employees for L-1A whenever possible.
Yes — the L-1 new office visa is specifically designed for this situation. A multinational company can petition to transfer a qualifying manager, executive, or specialized knowledge employee to establish or build out a new U.S. office. The new office L-1 is initially approved for 1 year. Before the 1-year period ends, the U.S. company must file an extension petition demonstrating that the U.S. entity has grown to the point that it can actually support a managerial or executive position — meaning there are employees being managed, the company has a real business presence, and revenues support the claimed organizational structure. We advise companies on building the right organizational foundation during the new office year to support a strong extension.
Yes — and you should start early. The EB-1C green card petition (I-140) can be filed as soon as the L-1A is approved, provided the company meets the qualifying U.S. entity requirements. EB-1C does not require PERM labor certification, and visa numbers are currently available for all nationalities (no per-country backlog). After the I-140 is approved, you file an I-485 adjustment of status application, which currently takes 12-24 months at the USCIS New York office. Filing the I-140 early in your L-1A period gives the maximum runway to complete the green card before the 7-year L-1A maximum is reached.
L-1B RFEs challenging specialized knowledge are common. USCIS often argues that the employee's knowledge, while valuable, is not sufficiently special or proprietary to meet the L-1B standard. The response must: (1) provide a detailed technical explanation of exactly what the employee knows that others in the industry do not; (2) explain why this knowledge is not readily available on the U.S. labor market; (3) include letters from the company's technical leadership explaining the knowledge's uniqueness; and (4) distinguish the employee's knowledge from generalized industry knowledge. If the knowledge relates to proprietary systems, custom software, unique manufacturing processes, or company-specific methodologies that are not published or taught in industry training, the L-1B is stronger. We draft detailed technical RFE responses for L-1B specialized knowledge challenges.
L-1 visas move your best people to your New York office. Contact Mandi Law Group for L-1 petition preparation and strategy.