An intracompany job transfer is when an employee is currently working for a company and that company wants to move the employee temporarily to a different country while they continue to work for the same company. Intracompany transferees will require a temporary work permit to work in either Canada or the United States. Intracompany job transfer to the United States require an L-1A Visa for a temporary work permit.
Now that borders are reopening and crossborder business travel is resuming, many Canadians who work in the United States on L-1 visas are planning to return to the U.S. for work. Some individuals had prepared their L-1 visa application prior to or during the pandemic shutdowns and are running into a problem when they attempt to submit their visa application at the border:
L-1 visa applications submitted at the border must be current: typically 1 - 2 months old.
A visa application prepared 6 months, a year or every 18 months ago will most likely be denied by the border agent and you will be turned away at the border.
What Is An L-1 Visa for Canadians?
L-1A Visa
An L-1A intracompany visa is for managers or executives who want to temporarily work in the United States. Qualifications for a USCIS L-1A intra-company transfer to the U.S. include:
- There must be a relationship between the employer and the foreign company
- The employer must be or will be doing business as an employer in the U.S. and one other country, though they are not required to be engaged in international trade
- The employee must have been working for the company for one year within the previous three years
- The employee must be entering the U.S. to provide managerial or executive level work for the company
Be Prepared: Contact a Business Immigration Lawyer Today
If your L-1 visa application is more than a couple of months old you likely will need a new visa application package. Many changes are happening due to the pandemic closures, border reopenings and the backlog in processing immigration applications.
Contact Ackah Law for your crossborder business visa needs: 403-452-9515 or contact@ackahlaw.com
