L-1 Visa Lawyer London — Intra-Company Transfer Visa Solicitors
15,000+ clients, 15 years of immigration experience, and a US-qualified attorney partner — so your transfer is handled on both sides of the Atlantic by one team.
Transferring an employee from your UK company to a US office, branch, or affiliate? Our immigration solicitors handle L-1A and L-1B intra-company transfer petitions end-to-end, working alongside our US-qualified attorney partner, Adam Bernard Attorneys, to manage both the UK and US sides of the process. Call 0207 100 2525 or book a free consultation to discuss your transfer.
What is an L-1 visa?
The L-1 visa lets a multinational company transfer an executive, manager, or specialised-knowledge employee from an overseas office to a related US office. It’s designed for genuine intra-company moves — the employee must have worked for the same employer, or a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate, for at least one continuous year within the last three years before transferring. It’s one of the few US work visas with no annual cap and no lottery, which makes it a reliable route for UK companies expanding into the US market.
The visa splits into two categories:
L-1A visa — managers and executives For employees moving into a managerial or executive role at the US entity. To qualify, the US and UK companies must have a qualifying relationship (parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate), and the US operation must be doing business as an employer — or clearly intend to — for the duration of the employee’s stay.
L-1B visa — specialised knowledge employees For employees with advanced, proprietary knowledge of the company’s products, processes, systems, or markets that isn’t readily available in the general US labour market. The same qualifying-relationship requirement applies.
How long can you stay on an L-1 visa?
Initial L-1 status is granted for one to three years, and can be extended in increments up to a maximum of five years (L-1B) or seven years (L-1A). New-office petitions (where the US entity has been trading for less than a year) are capped at an initial one-year validity while the business establishes itself; established companies can secure the full three years from the outset. Extensions are granted in up to two-year increments, subject to evidence the qualifying relationship and role continue to exist.
If your employment ends before your authorised stay expires, your employer is legally required to cover your return transportation costs; if you resign voluntarily, those costs fall to you.
Can my family come with me?
Yes — your spouse and unmarried children under 21 qualify for L-2 dependant status for the full length of your L-1 visa. They can travel with you initially or join later once their L-2 applications are approved. L-2 spouses receive automatic work authorisation on approval and, since the 2022 policy change, no longer need to file a separate Form I-765 — USCIS issues an I-94 annotated with employment authorisation directly.
What does an L-1 visa cost in 2026?
A standard L-1 petition typically costs between $1,885 and $2,385 in USCIS government filing fees alone, before legal fees, depending on employer size. The current fee structure (2026) is:
Fee | Standard employer | Small employer / nonprofit* |
Form I-129 base filing fee | $1,385 | $695 |
Fraud Prevention and Detection fee | $500 | $500 |
Asylum Program Fee | $600 | $300 (nonprofits: $0) |
Premium processing (optional, Form I-907) | $2,965 | $2,965 |
Public Law 114-113 fee (large H-1B/L-1-dependent employers only)** | $4,500 | N/A |
*Employers with 25 or fewer full-time equivalent staff, or bona fide nonprofits. **Applies only to petitioners with 50+ US employees where more than half hold H-1B or L-1 status.
On top of USCIS fees, transferees applying from outside the US pay a $205 consular (MRV) visa application fee, plus a $250 Visa Integrity Fee introduced in 2026, and — depending on nationality — a reciprocity fee that can range from $0 to over $1,700.
How long does an L-1 visa take?
Standard USCIS processing for an L-1 petition currently runs around seven months; premium processing guarantees a decision within 15 business days for an additional $2,965. Given the standard timeline, most employers filing individual L-1 petitions opt for premium processing to keep transfer dates on track. After USCIS approval, the employee still needs a visa interview appointment and stamp at a US consulate (typically two weeks to six months depending on location), unless entering under an established Blanket L arrangement.
L-1 Blanket petitions — a faster route for larger multinationals
If your company regularly transfers staff to the US, a Blanket L petition lets you pre-qualify the corporate relationship once and then process individual transferees directly through a US consulate — skipping a fresh I-129 petition each time. Blanket L eligibility generally requires the US and UK entities to be engaged in commercial trade or services, have a combined annual US sales of at least $25 million (or a US workforce of at least 1,000 employees, or having obtained at least 10 individual L-1 approvals in the preceding 12 months), and at least three qualifying branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates. For UK companies with an established or growing US footprint, this is usually worth exploring early rather than filing petition-by-petition.
From L-1 visa to US green card
L-1A holders generally have the fastest route to a US green card, because the EB-1C multinational manager/executive category doesn’t require PERM labour certification — L-1B holders, by contrast, usually need to go through the PERM process first, which adds significant time.
For L-1A transferees, the standard route is:
- Your employer files Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) under the EB-1C category, based on the same qualifying relationship and managerial/executive role used for the L-1.
- Once a green card number is available (EB-1C is generally current for most countries, though backlogs exist for India and China), you file Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status) if you’re already in the US, or complete consular processing via the National Visa Center if you’re abroad.
L-1B holders don’t have a direct L-1B-to-green-card category. Most pursue an EB-2 or EB-3 green card, which typically requires the employer to first complete PERM labour certification — a process that can take a year or more before the I-140 stage even begins. Where possible, we advise L-1B clients on whether a role can realistically be restructured to qualify as EB-1C, or whether EB-2 National Interest Waiver may be a faster alternative for highly qualified specialists.
Why choose Adam Bernard Solicitors for your L-1 visa
Adam Bernard Solicitors has advised more than 15,000 clients over 15 years, and our immigration team works directly alongside Adam Bernard Attorneys, our affiliated US law firm, so your L-1 petition, consular processing, and any onward green card strategy are managed under one coordinated team rather than handed off between separate UK and US advisers. We handle both individual and Blanket L petitions, advise on I-129 and I-907 premium processing filings, and can review whether your intended role and evidence file will hold up against USCIS’s specialised-knowledge and managerial-capacity standards before you file. Our solicitors are SRA-regulated and listed on the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor directory, and we offer free video consultations by Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp, or Skype alongside 24/7 phone support on 0207 100 2525.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a US company already trading to qualify for an L-1 visa?
Can L-1 visa holders switch employers?
What's the difference between L-1A and L-1B for green card purposes?
Is there a cap on the number of L-1 visas issued each year?
How far in advance should we start an L-1 petition?
Request to book a Free Consultation
Our Clients Share Their Success Stories.
Good service 👍 👌 many thanks for the great service you have provided to us. Our visa got approved just within 2 weeks only because of your hardwork and subject matter expertise. I am very thankful to you
For me, it was the attitude towards the job the lawyers displayed. Totally unmatched. I've been in and out of law firms because of the divorce with my wife and other related issues but Adam Bernard Solicitors was it for me guys. The best!
I want to thank Adam Benard team, they really helped me in my process of purchasing a property, their team are listen and respond to their customers fast. I really love your service, thanks alot.
Adam Bernard team helped me to purchase the best property for the best amount of time for the best money i have . i personally love dealing with them and i thank the team for all the efforts they made to make the task better .
