A Blanket L-1 Petition approval allows companies that have been frequent users of the L 1 visa, or are large multinational organizations, to bypass the filing of an individual petition with INS for each and every prospective L-1 transferee. These procedures save companies time and effort in transferring valued employees to the U.S. for temporary employment.

• In order for a company to qualify for the Blanket Petition program, the following criteria must be satisfied:
   

• All qualifying organizations within the international structure of the petitioner must be engaged in commercial trade or services.
   

• The petitioner must have an office in the United States that has been doing business for at least one year (no new office situations)
   

• The petitioner must have at least three domestic or foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates.
   

• Among all of the qualifying organizations within the petitioners organization, one of the following must be present:
   

• There have been at least ten L-1 approvals in the past year for executives, managers, or professionals with specialized knowledge,
  
  or
  
  The company has had U.S. sales of at least $25 million,
  
  or
  
  The U.S. work force exceeds 1,000 employees.
  
  Only ONE of these conditions need be satisfied.
   

• L-1 aliens with specialized knowledge who are not professionals cannot be transferred under the L 1 blanket petition program, nor can they be counted toward the required ten approvals to qualify on that basis. A professional is a person filling a position requiring at least a baccalaureate degree, who has such a degree or its equivalent in education and experience.

The company must file Form I-129 with the appropriate INS Service Center, along with the documents proving eligibility and a filing fee of $130.00.

The documentation is essentially the same as that required for establishing the corporate relationship between two specific corporate entities planning an L 1 transfer in an individual petition. Evidence must be submitted to show that the parent company and all branches, affiliates, and subsidiaries to be included are engaged in commercial trade or services, are actively doing business at present, and will continue to actively do business indefinitely. The easiest way to document this is to provide Annual Report and 10 K statement of a publicly traded U.S. company, or equivalent documents for a foreign parent company. These documents should provide adequate information about the nature of the business, the revenues of each component of the company, and the existence of three or more entities worldwide.

It is helpful to include a chart of the corporate structure with appropriate ownership percentages designated on the chart.

A transfer from or to a corporate entity not identified in the Blanket Petition, or of a specialized knowledge applicant who is not a professional, cannot be made without filing an individual petition.

The petition is adjudicated and maintained at the INS Service Center where it is filed, so that all future amendments or extensions of the Blanket Petition, extensions of stay for individual transferees, or individual petitions filed for particular aliens can be coordinated with the Blanket Petition at that Center.

If approved, Form 1-797 is issued identifying all corporate entities among which transfers can be made. The approval notice is valid for a period of three years initially. After the initial three-year approval, the company can obtain an indefinite extension of the program. Subsequent changes to the relationship among the approved corporate entities, or the inclusion of new additions, must be submitted to the INS for consideration and issuance of a new approval notice.

A Blanket L-1 Petition is approved for an initial three year period. That period can be extended indefinitely at the end of the first three years.

Once a Blanket Petition is approved, the company can bring to the United States qualifying individual employees under the authority of that approval notice. The employee must still meet the regular requirements for intracompany transferee status:

• Six months of continuous employment abroad with one of the qualifying corporate entities under the blanket petition in a managerial or executive capacity or as a professional with specialized knowledge
   

• An offer of employment in the United States in a managerial or executive capacity or as a professional with specialized knowledge.
   

• A qualified individual can apply for the L-1 visa at the American Consulate in his country of residence by presenting the following:
   

• a completed Form I-129S, Certificate of Eligibility
   

• a detailed letter from the company confirming his work history and qualifications
   

• degree certificates to prove professional status, in the case of a specialized knowledge professional.
   

• a copy of the L-1 Blanket Petition approval
   

• a valid passport
   

• a visa application fee, currently $100
   

• a visa reciprocity fee (if applicable, this fee varies from country to country).

Upon issuance of the visa, the applicant may enter the U.S. in L-1 status and commence immediate employment with the petitioner. Family members will be issued L-2 visas. Recent legislation now allows the L-2 spouse of an L-1 visa holder to obtain employment authorization in the U.S.