L-1 visa: who qualifies, what the petition costs, and how the $4,500 9-11 fee now applies to extensions

The L-1 lets a company transfer a manager, executive or specialized-knowledge employee from an overseas office to a related US office, if the person worked abroad for the company for one continuous year in the previous three. The base I-129 fee is $1,385 (as at 10 October 2026), plus a $500 fraud fee and a $600 Asylum Program Fee. A $4,500 9-11 fee applies to covered employers and, from 9 September 2026, to every extension petition.

The L-1 is the intracompany transferee classification. A multinational company can move an employee from a foreign office to a US branch, parent, subsidiary or affiliate for a temporary assignment. The statute is section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the main regulation is 8 CFR 214.2(l), and the fees are in 8 CFR 106.2.

The L-1 is part of the fee story that has dominated employer immigration in 2026. One piece of it is the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee, which is $4,500 for L-1 petitions filed by certain larger employers. On 10 August 2026 DHS published a final rule (91 FR 51360, effective 9 September 2026) that changes when this fee applies: it is now due on extension petitions too, not only on initial petitions and changes of employer.

This page explains the qualifying tests, the two L-1 types, the new-office rules, the time limits and the full list of fees. It describes how the rules work. It does not tell any employer or employee whether a particular transfer qualifies, how a position should be described, or whether the L-1 is the right category compared with an H-1B, an O-1 or a green card; those are decisions for an attorney who has the facts. The H-1B side of the same fee rule is covered on our page on H-1B employer fees.

The core test: one year abroad, three years back, a qualifying relationship

8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(i) states the rule: "an alien who within the preceding three years has been employed abroad for one continuous year by a qualifying organization may be admitted temporarily to the United States to be employed by a parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary of that employer in a managerial or executive capacity, or in a position requiring specialized knowledge."

Three conditions sit inside that sentence.

A qualifying relationship. The US and foreign entities must be related as parent, branch, subsidiary or affiliate. The regulation defines each. A subsidiary, for example, is an entity in which a parent owns more than half and controls the entity, or owns half and controls it, or owns 50 percent of a 50-50 joint venture with equal control and veto power, or owns less than half but "in fact controls the entity." An affiliate is one of two subsidiaries owned and controlled by the same parent or individual, or one of two entities owned and controlled by the same group of individuals, each owning and controlling approximately the same share (214.2(l)(1)(ii)(L)).
Doing business. A qualifying organization "is or will be doing business (engaging in international trade is not required) as an employer in the United States and in at least one other country directly or through a parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary for the duration of the alien's stay." "Doing business" means "the regular, systematic, and continuous provision of goods and/or services" and "does not include the mere presence of an agent or office."
One continuous year of qualifying employment. The person must have at least one continuous year of full-time employment abroad with a qualifying organization within the three years before filing, in a position that was managerial, executive or involved specialized knowledge. Time in the United States in lawful status for the same employer group and brief trips "shall not be interruptive of the one year of continuous employment abroad but such periods shall not be counted toward fulfillment of that requirement" (214.2(l)(1)(ii)(A)).

The petitioner must also show that the work in the United States is in a qualifying capacity, with a detailed description of the services, and that the person's education, training and employment qualify them for the intended work. The US work "need not be the same work which the alien performed abroad" (214.2(l)(3)(iv)).

L-1A and L-1B: the capacity definitions

The regulation uses the capacity to separate the two types of L-1.

Managerial capacity is an assignment in which the employee primarily:

manages the organization, or a department, subdivision, function or component of it;
supervises and controls the work of other supervisory, professional or managerial employees, or manages an essential function;
has authority to hire and fire or recommend those and other personnel actions if other employees are directly supervised (or, if no one is, functions at a senior level within the hierarchy or with respect to the function managed); and
exercises discretion over the day-to-day operations of the activity or function.

The regulation adds: "A first-line supervisor is not considered to be acting in a managerial capacity merely by virtue of the supervisor's supervisory duties unless the employees supervised are professional."

Executive capacity is an assignment in which the employee primarily directs the management of the organization or a major component or function, establishes the goals and policies, exercises wide latitude in discretionary decision-making, and receives only general supervision or direction from higher level executives, the board or stockholders (214.2(l)(1)(ii)(C)).

Specialized knowledge is "special knowledge possessed by an individual of the petitioning organization's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization's processes and procedures" (214.2(l)(1)(ii)(D)).

Managers and executives are L-1A; specialized knowledge employees are L-1B. The regulation's time limits differ by capacity, as described below. Whether a particular job description fits these definitions is the central question in most L-1 requests for evidence, and it is a legal judgment, not something the regulation answers in advance.

New offices, blanket petitions and owners

New office. The regulation defines a new office as "an organization which has been doing business in the United States through a parent, branch, affiliate, or subsidiary for less than one year" (214.2(l)(1)(ii)(F)). A new-office petition for a manager or executive must show, among other things, that:

"Sufficient physical premises to house the new office have been secured";
the person has had one continuous year of executive or managerial employment in the three years before filing, with authority over the new operation; and
the US operation, "within one year of the approval of the petition, will support an executive or managerial position," supported by information on the nature of the office, the size of the US investment, the foreign entity's financial ability to pay the employee and start doing business, and the foreign entity's organizational structure (214.2(l)(3)(v)).

New-office petitions for specialized knowledge employees have their own evidence list (214.2(l)(3)(vi)). A new-office petition "may be approved for a period not to exceed one year," after which the petitioner must demonstrate that it is doing business (214.2(l)(7)(i)(A) and (14)(ii)).

Owners. If the beneficiary is an owner or major stockholder, the petition must include "evidence that the beneficiary's services are to be used for a temporary period and evidence that the beneficiary will be transferred to an assignment abroad upon the completion of the temporary services in the United States" (214.2(l)(3)(vii)).

Blanket petitions. A larger organization can seek continuing approval of itself and its related entities as qualifying organizations, then process individual transferees with less evidence at the consulate. The tests in 214.2(l)(4) include an office in the United States "that has been doing business for one year or more," three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries or affiliates, and one of: approval of petitions for at least ten L managers, executives or specialized knowledge professionals during the previous 12 months; US subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million; or a US work force of at least 1,000 employees. The petitioner and each entity must be engaged in commercial trade or services.

Whether an employer should use an individual or a blanket petition is a business and legal decision.

How long the status lasts, and the five- and seven-year limits

An individual L-1 petition "shall be valid for the period of established need for the beneficiary's services, not to exceed three years, except where the beneficiary is coming to the United States to open or to be employed in a new office" (214.2(l)(7)(i)(A)). Under 214.1(l)(1), a person in L-1 status may be admitted for the validity period plus up to 10 days before it begins and 10 days after it ends, and may not work outside the validity period unless otherwise authorized.

To continue past the first approval the employer files an extension on Form I-129 (214.2(l)(14)(i)). That paragraph says an extension "generally may be filed only if the validity of the original petition has not expired." Material changes, such as a change in capacity from specialized knowledge to managerial, call for an amended petition with the fee (214.2(l)(7)(i)(C)).

The outer limit is in 214.2(l)(12)(i): "An alien who has spent five years in the United States in a specialized knowledge capacity or seven years in the United States in a managerial or executive capacity under section 101(a)(15) (L) and/or (H) of the Act may not be readmitted to the United States under section 101(a)(15) (L) or (H) of the Act unless the alien has resided and been physically present outside the United States, except for brief visits for business or pleasure, for the immediate prior year." Note the "and/or (H)": time in H status counts toward the same limit. Exceptions apply for people who do not reside continually in the United States and whose employment is seasonal, intermittent or six months or less per year, or who commute for part-time work, on "clear and convincing proof" (214.2(l)(12)(ii)).

Family. The spouse and unmarried minor children get L classification, subject to the same period of admission and limits as the employee. "Neither the spouse nor any child may accept employment unless he or she has been granted employment authorization" (214.2(l)(7)(ii)). The rules on how an L-2 spouse obtains work authorization are outside this page.

Permanent residence. The L-1 is not a green card. Moving to permanent residence usually runs through an employment-based petition, which has its own steps; see our page on PERM labor certification for the Department of Labor step many employer-sponsored cases need.

The fees an employer pays for an L-1 petition

Read from 8 CFR 106.2 and 106.4 in the eCFR text in force on 1 October 2026, the government fees for an L-1 petition are:

Form I-129, L petition: $1,385 (106.2(a)(3)(vi)). Small employers and nonprofits pay half, rounded to the nearest $5 (106.2(a)(3)(ix)).
Fraud prevention and detection fee: $500, for "certain H-1B and L petitions as described in 8 U.S.C. 1184(c)" (106.2(c)(5)(i)).
Asylum Program Fee: $600; $300 for a small employer; no fee for a nonprofit (106.2(c)(13)). It is paid in addition to the I-129 fee.
9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee: $4,500, for employers described below (106.2(c)(9)).
Premium processing, optional: $2,965 for an L petition, with a 15-business-day timeframe (106.4(c)(5) and (e)(5)).

The fee schedule also moves on its own timetable, so confirm every amount on the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055) before paying; a request filed with the wrong fee is rejected. Attorney fees are separate, are not set by regulation, and are not published on this site.

Who pays the 9-11 fee. Under 106.2(c)(9) it applies to "all petitioners filing an L-1 petition who employ 50 or more employees in the United States, if more than 50 percent of the petitioner's employees in the aggregate are in H-1B, L-1A, or L-1B nonimmigrant status." An employer below either threshold does not owe it. The text says the fee applies to petitions filed on or before 30 September 2027.

What changed on 9 September 2026: extensions now carry the 9-11 fee

DHS's final rule (91 FR 51360, effective 9 September 2026) states its purpose in its summary: the changes "correct DHS's interpretation of statutory language to require that covered employers submit the 9-11 Biometric Fee for all extension of status petitions, regardless of whether the related fraud prevention and detection fee applies, which includes extension of status petitions that do not involve a change of employer. The 9-11 Biometric Fee continues to apply unchanged to petitions seeking an initial grant of status."

The rule's history explains the change. Before it, DHS read the statute so that the 9-11 fee applied only when the fraud fee also applied: initial grants and changes of employer, but not same-employer extensions. The final rule explains that when Congress passed Public Law 114-113 it "inserted the phrase 'including an application for an extension of such status'," and DHS now reads that language as requiring the fee for extensions, too. The revised text of 106.2(c)(9) exempts only "Petitioners filing an amended petition that do not seek an extension of the alien's currently authorized L-1 status."

For a covered employer, that means an L-1 extension petition now carries the $4,500 in addition to the $1,385 base fee, the $500 fraud fee and the $600 Asylum Program Fee. Whether a given employer is "covered" depends on headcount and on the share of its workforce in H-1B, L-1A and L-1B status, which can change from year to year. DHS counts employees in the aggregate. An employer deciding whether the fee applies should have counsel confirm the count, because a wrong answer means a rejected or deficient filing.

The regulation limits the 9-11 fee to petitions filed on or before 30 September 2027, so check the fee schedule for any later change.

Where L-1 steps go wrong, from the rules

Counting time wrongly. The one year abroad must be continuous, full-time, within the three years before filing, and time in the United States for the same employer group does not count toward it.
A thin qualifying relationship. The regulation defines parent, branch, subsidiary and affiliate narrowly, and a "qualifying organization" must be doing business in the United States and abroad for the duration of the stay.
Job descriptions that read as first-line supervision, which the regulation says is not managerial "merely by virtue of the supervisor's supervisory duties," or that describe general skills when the petition is for specialized knowledge.
New-office petitions without secured premises or a plausible plan to support a managerial position within a year.
Forgetting that H-1B time counts toward the five- and seven-year limits.
Letting the petition expire before filing an extension. An extension "generally may be filed only if the validity of the original petition has not expired."
Missing the 9-11 fee on an extension after 9 September 2026, or paying it when the employer is below the thresholds.
Using a non-lawyer to prepare the petition. Only the people listed in 8 CFR 292.1 may represent a petitioner before USCIS. Our page on who can give immigration advice explains who that is.

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Questions people ask

How much does an L-1 visa petition cost in USCIS fees?

As at 10 October 2026 the eCFR lists $1,385 for the Form I-129 L petition, a $500 fraud prevention and detection fee, and a $600 Asylum Program Fee ($300 for small employers, none for nonprofits). Covered employers also pay the $4,500 9-11 fee, and premium processing, if requested, is $2,965. Check the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055) before paying.

What is the 9-11 fee for L-1, and who pays it?

It is the 9-11 Response and Biometric Entry-Exit Fee, $4,500 under 8 CFR 106.2(c)(9), for employers with 50 or more employees in the United States where more than 50 percent of the employees are in H-1B, L-1A or L-1B status. From 9 September 2026 it also applies to extension petitions.

How long can a person stay in L-1 status?

An individual petition is valid for the period of established need, not to exceed three years, or one year for a new office. The total limit is five years for specialized knowledge employees and seven for managers and executives, with time in H status counted, unless the person spends the immediate prior year outside the United States (214.2(l)(12)).

What is the difference between L-1A and L-1B?

L-1A is for managers and executives, as defined in 8 CFR 214.2(l)(1)(ii)(B) and (C). L-1B is for employees with specialized knowledge, defined in (D) as special knowledge of the company's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management or other interests, or an advanced level of knowledge of its processes and procedures.

Can an L-1 employee's spouse work?

The spouse and unmarried minor children get L-2 classification, but the regulation says "Neither the spouse nor any child may accept employment unless he or she has been granted employment authorization." How authorization is obtained is a separate legal question.

Does the L-1 need a labor certification?

The list of evidence for an individual L-1 petition in 8 CFR 214.2(l)(3) does not include a Department of Labor labor certification. A labor certification is part of many employment-based green card cases, which are separate from the L-1.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-10.

Related guides

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