US L1 visa and H1B visa comparison

L1 visa

H-1B visa

Temporary or permanent?

The L1 is a temporary visa

The H1B is a temporary visa

Dual intent?

L1 allows dual intent, meaning L1 visa holders do not need to demonstrate any ties to their home country, and can apply for permanent residence under a Green Card visa scheme without jeopardising their L1 visa status.
 

H1B allows dual intent, meaning H1B visa holders do not need to demonstrate any ties to their home country, and can apply for permanent residence under a Green Card visa scheme without jeopardising their H1B visa status.
 

Premium processing?

L1 visas qualify for premium processing

H1B visas qualify for premium processing

Who can apply?

To apply for an L1 visa the employee must have worked for an overseas subsidiary, parent, affiliate or branch office of the US company they are transferring to for at least one year out of the last three years. The employee must have worked as a manager, executive, or specialized knowledge worker for this time.

An H1B can be used to work for US based employer.

Quota/cap

No quota

In recent years the H1B visa has been oversubscribed a number of times over in April each year when the visas become available. Even if you are lucky enough to obtain a visa you cannot start until October in the same year. So the likelihood of obtaining a visa is low.

Current US visa law allows for a total of 85,000 new H1B visas to be made available each government fiscal year.

This includes 65,000 new H1B visas available for overseas workers in specialty (professional) level occupations with at least a bachelors degree.

An additional 20,000 visas available for those specialty workers with a postgraduate degree from a US academic institution.

Wages

No set wage requirement, but unreasonably low wages are not recommended.

Employers must pay H1B workers either:

• the 'prevailing wage', which means the average wage of similarly skilled workers in the same role

or
 

• the same wage the employer pays to similarly skilled workers, if higher

Payroll

L1 visa workers can be on the payroll of the US company or an overseas company

H-1B workers must be on the payroll of the US company

Family

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 can accompany the L1 visa holder on an L2 visa for dependents. L2 visa holders can easily obtain work authorisation and work for any employer.

Spouses and unmarried children under 21 can accompany the H1B visa holder on an H4 visa for dependents. H4 visa holders .

Education requirement

There is no education requirement for the L1 visa.

H1B applicants must have at least a US bachelor's degree or equivalent, and the role must be in a specialty occupation which requires the qualification.

Duration

L1A: initially 3 years (one year for a new office); extendable to 7 years

L1B: initially 3 years (one year for new office); extendable to 5 years

H1B: initially 3 years; extendable to 6 years

Getting a Green Card

L1 is dual intent, meaning immigrants can apply for a Green Card while in the US on an L1 visa.

Many overseas executives and managers including business owners come under the L1A visa scheme first and then apply at a later date for EB1C as an international manager or executive, which is one of the best ways of gaining an employment based immigrant visa (Green Card)

H1B is dual intent, meaning immigrants can apply for a Green Card while in the US on an H-1B visa.

In most cases it is a long and difficult process for H1B visa holders to obtain a Green Card.