From L-1 to green card before your five or seven years run out

The L-1 is temporary, but it doesn't stop you from thinking about a green card. For managers and executives, the route usually runs through the EB-1C, with no labor market test. For specialists, it runs through PERM or a self-petition. What matters most is starting early enough.

Many people who come to America on an L-1 don't want to leave after three years. The kids have made friends, the house feels like home, the US company is growing. The good news: the L-1 doesn't stand in your way. Unlike many other temporary visas, it expressly lets you pursue a green card at the same time. The less good news: time is limited, and the right route depends on whether you came as a manager or as a specialist.

This article from our guide to the L-1 visa explains why the L-1 allows dual intent, which green card routes are open to you, how the EB-1C works for L-1A managers, what L-1B specialists can do, what you may do while the process runs and when you should start.

1Dual intent: why the L-1 allows a green card

Most temporary visas assume you intend to return home after your stay. The L-1 is different. The Foreign Affairs Manual states that the presumption of immigrant intent under INA 214(b) does not apply to L applicants. Under INA 214(h), wanting to stay permanently does not rule out L status.

8 CFR 214.2(l)(16) puts it even more concretely: an employee may come to the US temporarily on an L-1 and at the same time lawfully seek a green card, provided they are willing to leave at the end of their authorized stay. Under the regulation, a labor certification application, a green card petition or an application for adjustment of status is no reason to deny an L petition, its extension, admission on an L-1 or L-2, or an extension of stay.

So can you live in America permanently on an L-1? The L-1 itself is temporary. But it is the best starting point for applying for permanent residence without putting your current status at risk. On the E-2 this is harder; our article L-1 or E-2 on the road to a green card explains the differences.

2The routes at a glance

For L-1 holders, four green card categories are the main options. Which one fits depends on your role, your qualifications and whether your employer is willing to file. The table compares them side by side. For an overview of every route open to entrepreneurs, see Green Card for Entrepreneurs.

The distinction that matters most is between categories with and without a labor market test. For EB-2 and EB-3, a petition generally has to be backed by labor certification from the US Department of Labor, the PERM process. The EB-1C doesn't require it, and neither do the EB-1A and the National Interest Waiver. That makes the EB-1C the obvious route for L-1A managers.

3L-1A to EB-1C: the obvious route

The EB-1C is the green card for multinational managers and executives. Its requirements are so close to the L-1A that many see it as the natural next step. Under INA 203(b)(1)(C) and 8 CFR 204.5(j):

• In the three years before the petition, you worked abroad as a manager or executive for at least one year. If you are already working in the US for the same group, the three years before your entry on the temporary visa count.
• The US employer is the same employer, or a subsidiary or affiliate of the company you worked for abroad.
• The US employer has been doing business for at least one year.
• It offers you a position as a manager or executive and describes the duties in a letter. No labor certification is needed.

The US employer files the petition on Form I-140. According to USCIS, it must also show that it can keep paying the offered salary, for example with financial statements or a tax return. On headcount, the same applies as for the L-1A: USCIS must consider the reasonable needs of a company in its development stage, and staff numbers alone don't decide the case. With premium processing, USCIS must act within 45 business days; the clock only starts once everything needed for a decision is in.

3.1Watch out with a new office

If you came on an L-1A for a new office, you can only file for the EB-1C once the US company has been doing business for a year. By then, it also has to show that it genuinely supports a managerial position. Small and young companies face their own questions here, covered in EB-1C for small and new US subsidiaries. For the route step by step, see From L-1A to EB-1C; for the requirements in detail, EB-1C requirements.

4L-1B: PERM, promotion or a self-petition

For specialists on an L-1B, the EB-1C usually doesn't fit, because it requires a managerial role both abroad and in the US. That leaves three routes.

The first is an employer-sponsored green card in EB-2 or EB-3. For this, the petition needs labor certification from the Department of Labor. The date the Department accepts the application becomes your priority date. For how the process works, see Green Card through Your Employer.

The second is a promotion. If you become a manager in the US, USCIS must approve the change in an amended, new or extended petition. After at least six months in the managerial role, the seven-year maximum opens up to you. For the EB-1C, though, your role abroad counts too: it must have been managerial.

The third is a self-petition, independent of your employer: the National Interest Waiver for professionals with a master's degree or exceptional ability, or the EB-1A for extraordinary ability. Neither requires a labor market test, and both free you from depending on a specific employer.

5Adjustment of status or consulate

Once the petition is approved or filed, the second part follows: the green card itself. If you live in the US, you usually apply with USCIS on Form I-485, known as adjustment of status. Under 8 CFR 245.2, the I-485 may be filed together with the petition if a visa number would be immediately available for your category. Whether it is shows in the State Department's monthly Visa Bulletin for your category and country of birth. If no number is available, you hold the I-485 until your priority date is current. For the EB-1C, the priority date is the day USCIS receives the complete petition.

One big advantage of the L-1 shows up when you travel. Under the regulation's general rule, anyone who has filed an I-485 abandons it by leaving the country without advance parole approved beforehand. For holders of a valid L-1, 8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii)(C) makes an exception: the trip does not count as abandoning the application if you are still eligible for L status on your return, are returning to your existing employer and hold a valid L visa. The same applies to spouses and children on an L-2. So business trips to Europe and visits to family remain possible.

The alternative is consular processing: once the petition is approved, you apply for the immigrant visa at a consulate abroad and enter the US on it. Which route suits you better and what it involves is explained in Process and documents: I-140, consulate or adjustment. The table shows the government fees for the EB-1C route.

6The clock: five and seven years

The L-1A allows a maximum of seven years in the US in total, the L-1B a maximum of five. Extensions are granted in increments of up to two years. 8 CFR 214.2(l)(15)(ii) adds a sentence that is crucial for planning: no further extensions are available. A pending green card case does not extend the L-1 beyond the maximum.

Once you reach the maximum, under 8 CFR 214.2(l)(12) you can only re-enter on L or H status after living outside the US for one year. Brief visits don't interrupt that year, but they don't count toward it either. Time spent in H status counts toward the maximum.

The math is simple. Count back from the end of your maximum stay: petition processing, any wait under the Visa Bulletin and I-485 processing. For an EB-1C, add the year the US company must have been doing business. Wait until year five of an L-1A and you have almost no room left for an RFE or a second attempt. For the timelines to expect, see our article on EB-1C processing time; for how long your L-1 still runs, see L-1 validity.

7Your family in the green card process

Your spouse and children get their green cards with you. Under INA 203(d), they qualify in the same category and with the same priority, whether they come with you or follow later. Under the law, a child is anyone unmarried and under 21. Each family member files their own I-485 and pays their own fee. For children under 14 filing together with a parent, the fee is lower.

While the case is pending, your family stays in L-2 status. What your spouse and children can do during that time, from working to going to school, is covered in our article on the L-2 visa. With older children, watch their 21st birthday: after that, the law no longer treats them as a child. Whether they can still be included is a case-by-case question that should be settled early.

8When you should start

The short answer: sooner than most people think. Because the L-1 allows dual intent, there is no reason to put off planning. For the EB-1C, the file is built in the everyday running of the US company: org charts, job descriptions, payroll records, annual financial statements. Keep these records from day one in a way that shows a managerial role, and they will be ready when it is time to file. You need the same documents for every L-1 extension anyway.

Also check whether the requirements for your green card are already met when your L-1 begins, or whether they still have to be built. If you come as a specialist, the question is whether a promotion is realistic or whether a separate petition is the safer route. If you come with a new office, the clock on the year of doing business starts on day one. And if the US company is your own, the green card belongs in the same plan as the company. The final decision rests with the government. But you can prepare the path from day one.

In short

• The L-1 allows dual intent. A green card application is no reason to deny an L petition, an extension or entry into the US.
• For L-1A managers, the route is usually the EB-1C: an employer petition with no labor market test, provided the US company has been doing business for at least one year.
• For L-1B specialists, the options are EB-2 or EB-3 with PERM, the National Interest Waiver, or a promotion to a managerial role.
• With valid L status, you can travel during adjustment of status, as long as you return to your employer and hold a valid L visa.
• After five years on an L-1B or seven years on an L-1A, no further extensions are possible. Your application should be underway well before then.

How we help you

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