In order to qualify for intracompany transferee ("L-1") status an employer must show that the prospective employee has worked abroad for one year or longer in the last three years for that company (in a subsidiary, affiliate or branch or parent office) in a managerial, executive or "specialized knowledge" capacity. The employee must be coming to the U.S. employer to fill a managerial, executive or specialized knowledge position. (An employee can be transferred to the U.S. to open a new office, as well. Also, even though all three categories of work will qualify a person for L-1 non-immigrant status, only managerial and executive, and not specialized knowledge, categories will qualify a person for the expedited immigrant or permanent residence category of "multinational manager or executive".) Please note that time in the United States does not count toward the one year eligibility requirement.

INS defines the meaning of "manager" restrictively. L-1 "managers" are those employees who manage other managers, supervisors, or professionals. Professionals are defined as those whose work requires a specific type of training and education only received through a university bachelor's degree program and who in fact have the degree (or its equivalent). INS also considers a person a manager if that person manages or directs an important function, department, or division of the company.

INS regulations state that "specialized knowledge" means special knowledge possessed by an individual about the petitioning organization's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and the subject's application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization's processes and procedures. INS regulations also provide for a "specialized knowledge professional" who has specialized knowledge and is a member of the professions.

In order to satisfy INS' requirements about the nature of the position in the U.S., the employer must provide specific information about the job duties and the titles, duties and educational levels of the employees supervised by the L-1 employee. General statements concerning the fact that the employee is a manager or managed other managers will be insufficient. The company must also define the important function, department or division which the prospective employee manages and/or will manage.

The preparation of the petition may require some or all of the following documents

Job-related information

1. an organizational chart showing the position held at minimum for the last year which lists the titles and names of the persons supervised -- in managerial cases only, not specialized knowledge cases
   
   
2. an organizational chart for the proposed U.S. managerial position also showing the titles and names of the persons who will be supervised (managerial cases only, not specialized knowledge cases)
   
   
3. a detailed job description of the duties performed by the employee abroad (or currently perform abroad) and will perform in the U.S. (in specialized knowledge cases please provide detail of the specific product, procedures, or processes, techniques, etc. in which specialized knowledge is held).
   
   
4. financial statements or other documents related to the financial status of the foreign and U.S. companies, especially the most current annual report (Where the U.S. or foreign entities are small or relatively new it may be advisable to provide additional company documentation such as: articles of incorporation for both U.S. company and company abroad; tax returns of both companies, lease agreement for premises of U.S. company; photographs, if possible of US company and foreign company offices; business plan of U.S. company if start-up; bank statements from abroad and from U.S. of company accounts; corporate minutes from company abroad indicating that specific employees are being transferred to U.S. company; copies of contracts between company in U.S. or company abroad and other entities (customers, etc.)
   
   
5. original pieces of the company's promotional materials
   
   
6. current version of the prospective employee's resume or curriculum vitae, which includes:
   
   Education, degree & university/college
   Name(s) of employer(s)
   Dates of employment
   Project assignments
   
   
7. diploma or degree or certificate for any post-secondary education
   
   
8. transcript (course listing showing marks) for the degree(s)
   
   
9. copies of any letters of recommendation or promotion received from the current or prior employers
   
   
10. salary and description of benefits for U.S. position to which the transfer is sought
    
    

Personal information and documents for prospective employee

1. Full legal name of the employee
   
   
2. Date and place of birth of the employee
   
   
3. Current foreign address of the employee (the petition form requires this information)
   
   
4. U.S. Social Security number of the employee, if applicable
   
   
5. Copy of the employee's current passport
   
   
6. Dates of any trips made to the U.S. in last 3 years & visa status (i.e. From... To...)
   
   

Family information/documents

Although we do not require information on the family to file a petition for a prospective employee who is out of the United States, if the employee is in the U.S. or will bring his/her family along in L-2 status at some future date, please provide the following information and documents:

1. Full legal name of the spouse
   
   
2. Spouse's date and place of birth
   
   
3. If the employee has children, the full legal names of all children, and their dates and places of birth
   
   
4. U.S. Social Security number of each family member, if applicable
   
   
5. A copy of the marriage certificate between the employee and his/her spouse
   
   
6. A copy of the birth certificates of any non-United States citizen children who will be included in the case at a later date
   
   

Comparison to L-1

The procedure is much the same as for a Blanket L-1. However, an E-2 is advantageous in the following instances: 1) the employee need not have worked one year abroad for the company unlike the case of an L-1 employee; 2) the person is a company employee but is not an executive or managerial employee and, although possessing specialized knowledge, does not possess a university degree and therefore cannot qualify for Blanket L-1 consideration as a "Specialized Knowledge Professional"; or 3) the person has already been in the United States as an L-1 for the maximum period of 7 years (Executive or Manager) or 5 years (Specialized Knowledge). The major disadvantage to the E-2 is that it is only available for those having the same nationality as the majority owners of the company.