For person with higher education or other desirable skills, you have many options to obtain both immigrant and non-immigrant. Given the complexities and potential mis-steps, we consider it essential for you to seek legal advice before applying for a visa.

To qualify for this visa, you must be able to demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim. Your achievements must be recognized in your field through extensive documentation. Evidence must meet 3 of the 10 criteria*, or provide evidence of a one-time outstanding achievement (i.e: the Pulitzer Prize, an Oscar, an Olympic Medal). This evidence required strongly depends on your field.

This type of application requires no labor certification.

To qualify for this visa, you must be able to demonstrate international recognition for your outstanding achievements in a particular academic field and must be entering the United States in order to pursue tenure or tenure track teaching or comparable research position at a university or other institution of higher education. This category proves more restrictive than other priority workers as it requires a permanent teaching or research position.

You also need at least 3 years’ experience in teaching or research in that academic area. You must include documentation of at least 2 of 6 criteria* and have an offer of employment from the prospective US employer.

This type of application requires no labor certification.

For this visa, you need to have been employed outside the United States for the 3 years preceding the petition for at least 1 year by a U.S. firm or corporation and seek to enter the United States to continue service to that firm or organization. Your employment must have been outside the United States in a managerial or executive capacity and with the same employer, an affiliate, or a subsidiary of the employer. Your employer must have been doing business for at least 1 year, as an affiliate, a subsidiary, or as the same corporation or other legal entity that employed you abroad.

This type of application requires no labor certification.

This immigrant visa has several requirements in order to waive the labor certification. The USCIS relies on a 1998 Administrative Appeals Office precedent decision in applying a three-prong test of requirements for evaluating requests for this classification.

1. You must show you plan on working in the U.S. in an area of substantial intrinsic merit.
2. You must show that the proposed impact of your work is national in scope, and that the proposed benefit of your work in the U.S. will reach a national level.
3. You must show that waiving the labor certification process protects the national interests of the U.S., and that the benefits offered outweigh the benefits of the labor certification process to U.S. workers.

For this visa, the position offered must require an advanced degree of a Master’s degree of higher. Education plus experience comes under consideration. A labor certification is required.

For this visa, you must demonstrate having “extraordinary ability” in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics as evidenced by sustained national or international acclaim. Establishing this requires extensive documentation. Qualified applicants are eligible for visa periods of up to 3 years, with no limit on the number of extensions.

Two options present within the L-1 nonimmigrant visa category:

L-1A Intracompany Transferee Executive or Manager

This allows executives or managers abroad to come work in a US office location, or in some situations to set establish a US location.

L-1B Intracompany Transferee

In this case, specialized knowledge allows an employer to transfer a processional employee with specialized knowledge relating to the organization’s interests.

Requirements for an L-1 visa include demonstrating a qualifying relationship and proving sufficient physical space or setting up a new space. The employee must be working in an executive or managerial capacity for at least one full year within the last three years. USCIS requires significant evidence for this visa type and has a high rate of requesting further information.