Companies can rapidly and unexpectedly relocate numerous employees to the US with the use of an L1 blanket visa petition. To secure L1 visas for their employees, these frequently big, multinational firms might submit a sweeping L1 petition to the USCIS. In order to move a set number of executives and managers to the US on L1 visas, corporations must submit a blanket L1 visa petition to the USCIS. By doing so, they can avoid having to submit individual L1 individual visa petitions for each employee.
Certain companies may establish the required intra-company relationship in advance of filing individual L-1 petitions by filing a blanket petition. For this, the employer and each of the qualifying organizations should be engaged in commercial trade or services. It should have an office in the United States which has been doing business for one year or more and have three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates. Further, the employer along with other qualifying organizations meet one of the following criteria: (1) have obtained at least 10 L-1 approvals during the previous 12-month period; (2) have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or (3) have a U.S. work force of at least 1,000 employees.
The approval of a blanket L petition provides employer with the flexibility to transfer eligible employees to the United States quickly and with short notice without having to file an individual petition. In most cases, once the blanket petition has been approved, the employer need only complete Form, I-129S, Non-immigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition and send it to the employee along with a copy of the blanket petition Approval Notice and other required evidence. The employee may present it to a consular officer in connection with an application for an L-1 visa. Canadian citizens, who are exempt from the L-1 visa requirement, may present the completed Form I-129S and supporting documentation to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer at any U.S. Port of Entry (POE), in connection with an application for admission in L-1 status. If any prospective L-1 employee is visa-exempt, the employer may file the Form I-129S and supporting documentation with the USCIS that approved the blanket petition, instead of submitting the form and supporting documentation directly with CBP.