BLANKET L1 VISA
If a company can qualify, we highly recommend obtaining an L1 blanket nonimmigrant visa because it provides several very important advantages.
First, once you obtain a blanket, you will not have to file L1 petitions with the USCIS; you can file L1 visa applications directly at a U.S. Consulate. This will save you a significant amount of processing time since you will not have to wait for the USCIS approval before you can file the visa application at the Consulate.
Another advantage of having a blanket is that you can readily transfer your employee from any of your U.S. companies to any other subsidiary or affiliate you may have in the U.S. without having to file and wait for an amended petition to be approved by the USCIS as long as all your U.S. companies are included in the blanket.
Unfortunately, not all companies can qualify for a blanket L approval. It’s only for larger companies. There are three ways a company can qualify so if you meet any of the tests, you can qualify. You either have to have 1,000 employees in the U.S., or your U.S. subsidiary must have obtained at least ten L visa approvals in the last year, or it has to have at least $25,000,000 in sales.
Generally speaking, the same employees who qualify under the individual L1 visa tests would qualify under a blanket so for your executives and managers it’s usually pretty easy. The only category that is a little more restricted is those who would qualify under the specialized knowledge test for individual L’s. Under the blanket, they must qualify as “specialized knowledge professionals.” This means they must perform a job that requires a university degree and the applicant must have a university degree, but for most employees of large international companies, this usually is not a problem.
Even if a company has a blanket approval, it still can file individual petitions. This would be necessary if you did not include a certain company in your blanket petition, or if the applicant you would like to send to the U.S. is attempting to qualify under the specialized knowledge category, but cannot qualify as a specialized knowledge professional because he does not have a university degree.
The blanket is approved initially for just three years, but it is relatively easy to extend as long as the company keeps accurate records of its use of the blanket and the hiring and termination dates of its transferees under the blanket.
Contact our NY immigration lawyers for more information.
