L-1 Blanket Petitions

The L-1 Blanket Petition accommodates the need of large multinational companies to expedite the transfer key personnel to their offices in the United States.

The Petitioner (Company) must establish:

  • The petitioning company must be a member of the company's corporate family ;
  • The petitioner and each of the related entities must carry on commercial trade or services;
  • The petitioner has an office in the United States that has been doing business for at least one year;
  • The petitioner maintains three or more foreign and domestic branches, subsidiaries and affiliates.

In addition, the petitioner must satisfy at least one of the following:

  • They have obtained approval of at least ten individual "L" petitions for managers, executives or specialized knowledge professionals during the previous twelve months;
  • Their United States subsidiaries or affiliates show combined annual sales of at least $25 million or;
  • They have a United States workforce of at least 1,000 employees.

The Beneficiary (Employee) must establish):

  • The individual has been employed in a qualifying capacity for at least one year in the preceding three years;
  • The individual will be employed in a qualifying capacity as a manager, executive or specialized knowledge professional for a U.S. entity.

The company petitioner files a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker with USCIS. Upon approval, USCIS issues I-797 Blanket Approval and the qualifying organizations listed on the petition may begin transferring employees.

The employee-beneficiary presents a completed Form I-129S evidencing tenure and qualifying capacity, and the I-797 blanket approval notice to either a consular officer or, if the alien is visa exempt such as a Canadian, to a service officer at the port-of-entry.

On validity and admission into the U.S.A.

  • Period of Validity: The initial validity of an approved blanket petition is three years. The petitioner is thereafter required to file for an indefinite extension.
  • Period of Admission: The employee may be admitted to the United States for a period of three years during the validity of the Blanket L-1 petition.
  • Limitation of Admission: The L-1 Blankets is limited to five years for a specialized knowledge professional and seven years for a manager or executive apply to beneficiaries of a blanket petition.