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The United States L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows overseas companies to transfer employees under two types of L1 visa schemes. For L1 visa transfers of executives and managers, including business owners, for up to seven years, there is the L1A visa, and for specialized knowledge employees, the L1B visa allows entry for up to five years to a new or existing US office. To qualify for an L1 visa, the employee, which can include business owners, must have worked for a subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of the US company outside of the US for at least one year out of the last three years.
One of the benefits of the L1 visa is that there is no quota. Unlike in the case of the H1B visa category, an unlimited number of visas can be issued. However, unless the company is a very large company with blanket filing, a considerable amount of documentation needs to be submitted for each L1 visa petition to the USCIS in duplicate. Indian and Chinese nationals are able to come under the L1 visa category. They are unable to come under the E2 and E1 visas, which are limited only to certain nationalities.
The requirements for employment-based immigration (permanent residence) under the EB1C immigrant scheme are similar to the requirements for the L1A Executive and Manager Visa category. Many overseas executives and managers, including business owners, come under the L1A visa scheme first and then apply at a later date for EB1C as an international manager or executive, which is one of the best ways of gaining an employment-based immigrant visa (green card).
As you need to show that you have worked for a business outside the US for at least one year in the last three years, you need to apply for the EB1C immigrant visa within two years of entry to the US on an L1 visa. The business needs to have been established in the US for at least one year before you can apply under this green card scheme.
Companies operating in the US can apply to the relevant USCIS service center for an L1 intra-company transfer visa to transfer someone to the US from their overseas operations. Employees in this category will, initially, be granted an L1 visa for up to three years. For a new office (that has been in operation for less than a year), the L1 visa is granted for one year.
It usually takes 6 months or less to process complete Express Entry applications, but in the meantime, workers can be hired on site under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or International Mobility Program while their Express Entry application is processed.
Mistakes or omissions in the application process can cause delays. Contact us to have your candidate's application handled in-house by a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
If you want to hire a skilled worker through either the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Federal Skilled Trades Program, you will need to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to show that there is a genuine need for a foreign worker to fill the role and that no Canadian worker is available.
Under the Express Entry program, any dependent family members of the main applicant are also granted permanent residence in Canada and enjoy all the same rights to live, work, and study in the country. However, under the TFWP program, dependent family members must make their own visa applications, but the main candidate's status may help, especially if they're highly skilled and will be working in Canada for 6 months or more. If a candidate wants to take their family with them, please contact us for advice tailored to their case.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) are very similar visa categories, which allow employers to hire migrant workers to fill short-term labour and skills shortages. Which program you use is determined by whether you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA); those who do should apply under the TFWP, while those that don't should use the IMP.
To find out if you need an LMIA, you can review the Canadian government's list of LMIA exemption codes yourself, which can be a complex and lengthy process. Alternatively, our in-house Canadian immigration specialists can handle the entire application for you.
Once you know which visa category to apply for, you can make the candidate an official job offer, after which they can apply for a Canadian work permit.
Under the Express Entry program, any dependent family members of the main applicant are also granted permanent residence in Canada and enjoy all the same rights to live, work, and study in the country. However, under the TFWP program, dependent family members must make their own visa applications, but the main candidate's status may help, especially if they're highly skilled and will be working in Canada for 6 months or more. If a candidate wants to take their family with them, please contact us for advice tailored to their case.
The L1 Visa requirements for management and executive roles for these purposes are quite strict, and a detailed description of the duties attached to the position will be required. In particular, the executive or manager should have supervisory responsibility for professional staff and/or for a key function of the department or subdivision of the employer. Such personnel are issued an L1A visa, initially for a three-year period, extendible in two-year increments to a maximum of seven years. For a new US office, entry for an L1 visa is granted for one year.
This category covers those with knowledge of the company's products or services, research, systems, proprietary techniques, management, or procedures. This should be explained in some detail when applying for the L1 visa. Staff in this category are issued an L1B visa, initially for three years, extendable to a maximum of five years.
After completing the maximum allowable period of L1 visa status, the employee must be employed outside the United States for a minimum of one year before a new application is made for L or H status.
If you are an Australian citizen with a professional level job in the US, you may apply for an E3 visa for entry to the US to take a job in a "specialty occupation". This is a huge benefit for Australian citizens who would otherwise have to come under the H1B visa category, which is heavily oversubscribed at the beginning of April each year. In comparison, the E3 visa quota of approximately 10,500 for Australian citizens only is never fully used. In addition, unlike with the H1B visa, spouses of E3 visa holders are allowed to work.
Several supporting documents must be provided, and other conditions must be met.
Under the Express Entry program, any dependent family members of the main applicant are also granted permanent residence in Canada and enjoy all the same rights to live, work, and study in the country. However, under the TFWP program, dependent family members must make their own visa applications, but the main candidate's status may help, especially if they're highly skilled and will be working in Canada for 6 months or more. If a candidate wants to take their family with them, please contact us for advice tailored to their case.
The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the International Mobility Program (IMP) are very similar visa categories, which allow employers to hire migrant workers to fill short-term labour and skills shortages. Which program you use is determined by whether you need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA); those who do should apply under the TFWP, while those that don't should use the IMP.
To find out if you need an LMIA, you can review the Canadian government's list of LMIA exemption codes yourself, which can be a complex and lengthy process. Alternatively, our in-house Canadian immigration specialists can handle the entire application for you.
Once you know which visa category to apply for, you can make the candidate an official job offer, after which they can apply for a Canadian work permit.