L-1 is a visa granted to foreigners who are working for a U.S. company outside the U.S. or an international company with a branch in the U.S. The processing duration for this is from 4 (four) to 6 (six) months.
Qualified L-1 applicants:
- He/she is in the management level and has a special skill or knowledge valuable enough to be transferred to the U.S;
- He/she works as a manager at the same company/subsidiary/branch in the U.S;
- He/she has been working for the current company for at least 1 (one) year within the past 3 (three) years and was invited by the company to work for a period in the main office or its subsidiary;
- He/she needs to demonstrate the relationship between the Vietnamese and U.S. companies.
Benefits of L-1 visa holders:
- Visa holder may open a branch or a representative office in any state in the U.S;
- Visa holder and dependents (spouse and children under 21 years old and single) are granted working and studying visas in the U.S. up to 7 years;
- Visa holder may get free education from U.S. public schools. Tuition in colleges and universities is likewise applied as U.S. citizens (equivalent to only 1/3 of the cost for foreign students)
- Reap the same benefits as U.S. citizens'
- Visa holder and family members have chance to get permanent green cards after 1 year of living, working or studying in the U.S
