L1 USA Visa : A Guide for Filipino Aspirants
L1 USA visa or Intra-company Transfer Visa is a non immigrant visa that allows employees and employers to work in the United States. This allows them to maintain with their home country interests while continuously doing transactions abroad. However, not everyone could be granted an L1 visa; certain qualifications are needed before the paperwork gets approved. Qualified applicants are better categorized through the two types of L1 visa offered – L-1A and L-1B visa.
L-1A visa. This type of visa is granted to executives and managers. The guidelines before acquiring this document are strict and would rely on the legal definition of their roles. This includes stating supervisory tasks, responsibilities and key functions. A person with L-1A visa could use it for a maximum of 7 years.
L-1B visa. – This is for degree holders and workers with specialized knowledge. A person who wishes to apply for an L-1B visa should have a minimum of 1 year working experience and knowledge of his specialization. The validity of this visa could be up to 5 years.
People who commonly get L1 USA visa are those originally employed from another country and are being transferred to a qualified company branch in the United States, usually a subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture business partner. USCIS (US Citizenship and Immigration Services) is the responsible body that reviews all applications upon the submission of necessary documents. Some of the top L1 visa users are I.T. companies like IBM, Hindustan Computers Ltd, Kanbay, Infosys, Accenture and Microsoft.
There are many other companies across the country that could serve as a doorstep to those who want to work in the United States. Nonetheless, Filipino aspirants should still be cautious in picking an employer or recruitment firm.