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Eligible job
titles for the L-1 visa
Question:
What kinds of job
capacities satisfy the L visa?
Answer:
There are two basic job
capacities that an L-1 can work in, as a manager/executive or as a
"specialty worker".
Managerial
or executive capacity
The
discussion of managerial and executive capacity that follows provides
guidance for applying the definition of these terms to specific case
situations:
(1)
An executive or managerial capacity requires a certain level of
authority and an appropriate mix of job duties. Managers and executives
plan, organize, direct, and control an organization's major functions and
work through other employees to achieve the organization's goals.
Supervisors who plan, schedule, and supervise the day-to-day work of
nonprofessional employees are not employed in an executive or managerial
capacity, even though they may be referred to as managers in their
particular organization. In addition, individuals who primarily perform
the tasks necessary to produce the product(s) or provide the service(s) of
an organization are not employed in an executive or managerial
capacity.
(2)
Eligibility requires that the duties of a position be primarily of
an executive or managerial nature. The test is basic to ensure that a
person not only has requisite authority, but that a majority of his or her
duties relate to operational or policy management, not to the supervision
of lower level employees, performance of the duties of another type of
position, or other involvement in the operational activities of the
company, such as doing sales work or operating machines or supervising
those that do. This does not mean that the executive or manager cannot
regularly apply his or her technical or professional expertise to a
particular problem. The definitions are not intended to exclude from the
duties of a manager or executive activities that are not strictly
managerial, but are common to those positions, such as customer and public
relations and lobbying and contracting.
(3)
An executive may manage a function within an organization. It must
be clearly demonstrated, however, that the function is not directly
performed by the executive. If the function itself is performed by the
intended executive, the position should be
viewed as a staff officer or specialist, not as an executive. In
general, classification in a specialized knowledge capacity is more
appropriate for individuals who control and perform a function within an
organization, but do not have subordinate staff, except perhaps a personal
staff.
(4)
If a small or medium-sized business supports a position wherein the
duties are primarily executive or managerial, it can qualify under the L
category. However, neither the title of a position nor ownership of the
business are, by themselves, indicators of managerial or executive
capacity. For example, a physician may incorporate his or her practice for
business purposes and may hire a receptionist, bookkeeper, and a nurse to
assist in that medical practice. For L purposes, the physician is not a
manager, but a person who primarily practices his or her professional
skills as a physician.
(5)
The L beneficiary who is coming to the United States to open a new
office may be classified as a manager or executive during the one year
required to reach the ``doing business'' standard if the factors
surrounding the establishment of the proposed organization are such that
it can be expected that the organization will, within one year, support a
managerial or executive position. The factors to be considered include
amount of investment, intended personnel structure, product or service to
be provided, physical premises, and viability of the foreign operation. It
is expected that a manager or executive who is required to open a new
business or office will be more actively involved in day-to-day operations
during the initial phases of the business, but must also have authority
and plans to hire staff and have wide latitude in making decisions about
the goals and management of the organization.
Specialized
knowledge capacity.
The
term ``specialized knowledge'' implies that eligibility is dependent upon
a showing that a person possesses a type of knowledge and advanced level
of expertise that are different from the ordinary or usual in a particular
field, process, or function. Knowledge which is widely held or related to
common practices or techniques and which is readily available in the
United States job market is not specialized for purposes of L
classification. The level of knowledge required and the employment of the
specific alien must directly relate to the proprietary interest of the
petitioner. To be proprietary, the knowledge must relate to something
which relates exclusively to the petitioner's business.
For
example, knowledge which is essential to a special research program, or
expert knowledge regarding a firm's materially different product or
manufacturing process may be deemed specialized. Further, the employment
of the beneficiary or a person with equivalent knowledge must be critical
to the petitioner's proprietary interests. Eligibility under section
101(a)(15)(L) does not extend to persons whose general knowledge and
expertise enable them to merely produce a product or provide a service.
For example, chefs and specialty cooks are not considered to have
specialized knowledge, even though they may have knowledge of a
restaurant's special recipes.
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