L-1A Blanket Petitions

A "blanket petition” for an L-1A visa is a specific petition that may be approved for some of the larger, multinational companies. It eliminates the requirement to file single L-1 petitions for all employees the company would like to bring to the U.S.A. The employee who works for a company that has approval for blanket petitions may submit an application at a U.S.A. consulate for an L-1 visa using the blanket petition. Proof must be provided of an appropriate previous record of employment abroad for that company.

Blanket petitions can be made use of for applications for L-1A visas for executive and managerial employees, and for L-1B employees with specialized professional knowledge. Using the blanket petition does not change the length of the L-1 stay or eliminate the prerequisites that require demonstrating that the employee's position matches the L-1 requirements. L-1 blanket petitions are available for the transferring of specialized knowledge L1B positions for those who are non professionals.

Requirements for blanket petitions

The petitioning U.S.A. company needs to have

• an active office present in the U.S.A. for no less than a year, as well as conducting appropriate business;
  
  
• at least 3 or more overseas or domestic branches, affiliates or subsidiaries and be actively taking part in commercially operated trade or services;
  
  
• yearly sales in the U.S.A. of at least $25 million, a U.S.A. workforce of at least one thousand people or be in receipt of approval of no less than 10 separate L1 petitions in the last 12 months.

The beneficiary/ employee must match the essential requirements for an L-1 visa, including employment overseas with the subsidiary, parent company or affiliate, for one year continuously within the last 3 years prior to the filing of the L1 visa application.

Blanket petitions cannot necessarily be taken for granted, so companies wishing to transfer employees to the U.S.A. using this method should ensure that they obtain legal advice and employ an experienced immigration attorney to prepare and file the blanket petitions on their behalf. An appointed attorney can help with preparing visa applications in the L-1 category related to blanket L-1 petitions at U.S. consulates.