L-1 or H-1B for employees: transfers without the March lottery

If you want to send employees to the USA, the first visa you hear about is the H-1B, America's best-known work visa. For European companies it is rarely the first choice. The L-1 has no annual cap and no lottery; it only requires that your employee has already worked for you for a year. Here are both visas, point by point.

1Two visas, two logics

The L-1 and the H-1B are both work visas, both start with a petition on Form I-129, and both let you pursue a green card at the same time. Behind them, though, are two different ideas. The L-1 is a visa for corporate groups: it brings people who already work for you from your company abroad to its affiliated company in the USA. The H-1B is a visa for the American labor market: a US employer hires a skilled professional, wherever they come from and whether or not they worked for that employer before.

Almost everything else follows from that. The L-1 asks about the relationship between the companies and about the year your employee has worked for you. The H-1B asks about the degree, the position and the wage, and it is capped. For a European company that wants to send its own people to its US subsidiary, the L-1 is almost always the first route.

2Who gets the L-1

For the L-1, your company abroad needs a qualifying relationship with the US company: parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate. Both must actually do business throughout the stay, on a regular, systematic and continuous basis. The L-1 does not require international trade.

Within the three years before entry, your employee must have worked for the company abroad for one continuous year. In the USA, they then work either as an executive or manager (L-1A) or with specialized knowledge (L-1B). Specialized knowledge means special knowledge of the company's products, services, research, equipment, techniques or management and their application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge of the company's processes and procedures. No particular degree is required.

The initial approval is valid for up to three years. Extensions are granted in increments of up to two years, to a maximum of seven years for the L-1A and five years for the L-1B. There is no annual cap and no lottery: if you meet the requirements, you can file the petition at any time. More in L-1 requirements.

3Who gets the H-1B

The H-1B is for positions in a so-called specialty occupation: work that requires the application of highly specialized knowledge and normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a directly related field. Your employee needs such a degree from the USA, an equivalent degree from abroad, or a combination of education and progressive work experience equivalent to a bachelor's.

With the petition, the employer must submit a Labor Condition Application certified by the US Department of Labor. The initial approval is valid for up to three years and can be extended by up to three more, for a maximum of six years in total. The H-1B does not require prior employment with you. That is its one real advantage over the L-1: it also works for people you are hiring new.

4The lottery: registration, selection, start date

The big difference is in the numbers. The H-1B has an annual cap of 65,000 new visas, plus 20,000 for graduates with a master's or higher degree from a US university. Exempt are, for example, positions at universities and at nonprofit or government research organizations.

If you fall under the cap, you first have to submit an electronic registration with USCIS, at $215 per person. For fiscal year 2027, it ran from March 4 to March 19; from April 1, petitions could be filed for the selected individuals, with a start date no earlier than October 1. If there are more registrations than slots, USCIS selects, weighted by the highest wage level the offered salary reaches for the occupation and work location. For fiscal year 2027, both caps were reached.

For your planning, that means: anyone not selected in spring stays in the running only for another selection that same year, if USCIS holds one; otherwise they wait for the next registration. Anyone selected can start in October at the earliest. That rarely fits a transfer that is meant to carry a project or a new branch. More on the H-1B itself in H-1B visa: lottery, requirements and transfers.

5New office, corporate groups and Blanket L

The L-1 can even be based on a US company that does not exist yet. If your company sends an executive to set up a new office, business premises must be secured, the executive must have worked in a managerial role for one year within the three years before the petition, and the US office must be able to support a genuine executive position within one year. The initial approval is then valid for one year at most. The one-year limit also applies to employees with specialized knowledge. How this works in practice is explained in L-1 for a new office.

Larger groups can skip the individual petition. With a Blanket L approval, USCIS establishes the relationship between the companies once. The requirements: all participating companies are engaged in trade or services, the US office has been doing business for at least one year, there are at least three branches, subsidiaries or affiliates at home and abroad, and one of three criteria is met: at least ten L-1 approvals in the past twelve months, at least $25 million in annual sales by the US companies, or at least 1,000 employees in the USA. After that, the employee goes straight to the consulate with Form I-129S, where a Fraud Prevention Fee of $500 applies.

6When you own the US company

Many founders ask whether they can get a visa for themselves through their own US company. With the L-1, that is the normal case: the relationship between your company at home and the US company supports the petition, even if you own both. What matters is that the company abroad is and remains substantively active, and that you worked there for the year in a managerial role or with specialized knowledge.

With the H-1B, too, the beneficiary can be an owner. If they hold more than 50 percent or a majority of the voting rights, they may take on duties directly related to owning and running the business, as long as they spend most of their time on specialty occupation work. The initial approval is then limited to 18 months at most. And the lottery still applies: the owner also has to be selected in March.

7What the government charges

The table compares government fees under the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition of October 16, 2026). The base fee for the I-129 is lower for the H-1B than for the L-1. Overall, the H-1B is still usually more expensive, because the registration and the ACWIA Fee of $1,500 or $750 come on top.

Both visas carry a surcharge for large employers, the Pub. L. 114-113 Fee. It applies to employers with at least 50 employees in the USA, more than half of whom hold H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status, for petitions through September 30, 2027: $4,500 for the L-1, $4,000 for the H-1B. Since a rule that took effect on September 9, 2026, such employers must pay this fee for all L-1 and H-1B petitions, except amendments without an extension. As a rule, this does not affect small companies building a subsidiary.

Premium Processing costs $2,965 for both and cuts the decision on the I-129 to 15 business days. Once approved, your employee pays $205 for the visa at the consulate.

8The $100,000 H-1B payment

One special rule applies only to the H-1B. A presidential proclamation of September 19, 2025 requires an additional payment of $100,000 for certain H-1B petitions filed on or after September 21, 2025. It targets mainly petitions for people who are outside the US and do not hold a valid H-1B visa. Petitions for people in the US whose change of status or extension is approved are not affected. Exceptions are granted only by the Secretary of Homeland Security, in extraordinarily rare cases.

On June 8, 2026, a federal district court in Massachusetts vacated the policy the agency uses to collect the payment; on July 24, 2026, the court of appeals declined to stay that decision. The agency says it is complying with the ruling but intends to collect the payment again if the ruling is overturned. The fee schedule still lists the amount. If you are planning an H-1B for an employee abroad, you need to factor in this open question. The L-1 has no such payment.

9Family: what your spouse can do

With the L-1, spouses and unmarried children under 21 come on the L-2 and usually get the same length of stay. With L-2S status, the spouse is authorized to work; an I-94 showing this code is sufficient proof for the employer. The spouse can apply for a separate work permit but does not have to.

With the H-1B, the family comes on the H-4. The spouse may work only in certain cases: when the H-1B holder has already started the green card process, and even then only with a separate work permit on Form I-765. For dual-career families, this is often the deciding factor.

10The path to a green card

Both visas expressly allow you to work temporarily in the US while pursuing a green card. The routes from there differ. For executives and managers on an L-1A, the EB-1C is the natural next step: the US company files the petition once it has been doing business for at least one year, and no labor market test is required. From L-1 to green card explains how it works.

For employees on an L-1B or H-1B, the route usually runs through the second or third preference category, EB-2 or EB-3, typically with a labor market test at the Department of Labor. If you have a master's degree or exceptional ability and a project of national importance, you can file the EB-2 NIW without an employer.

11The third route: E employees

If your US company holds an E-1 or E-2, there is a third route with no prior-employment year and no lottery. Employees with the same nationality as the company can come as E employees if they work in an executive or supervisory role or have special qualifications essential to the business. The company must be at least 50 percent owned by nationals of the treaty country. Most European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, have E-2 treaties; check whether your country also has E-1.

For short assignments, a B-1 visa may be enough: for example, to install, service or repair machinery a US customer bought from your company abroad, or to train the customer's staff on it. The purchase contract must provide for this service, your employee must have the essential know-how, and they may not be paid from the US. Construction work is not covered by this rule. ESTA and B-1 visa explains the limits. Sending employees to the USA covers the social security and employment law framework of every assignment, and Which US visa is right for you? puts all the visas side by side.

In short

• The L-1 brings employees who have worked for the company abroad for at least one year to the affiliated US company, with no cap and no lottery.
• The H-1B is for professionals with a bachelor's degree in a specific field; it is capped at 65,000 new visas a year plus 20,000 for US master's graduates and runs through a registration in March.
• The L-1 allows for a new US office; the H-1B has no special rule for this.
• On the L-1, your spouse may work; on the H-1B, only in certain cases.
• For employees of an E-1 or E-2 company, the E employee route offers a third option.

How we help you

• Visa Roadmap for Company FormationFormation and visa in one plan, so the company carries the visa.
• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Visa and Green Card ConsultationWhich route to the USA fits you, settled in one conversation.
• US market entrySubsidiary, staff, taxes: your start in the US market.
• PayrollPayroll, payroll taxes and filings for your employees in the USA.
• Form a CorporationThe US corporation (Inc) for growth, investors and your visa.