Build the operation. Transfer the right people.
L-1A and L-1B support different roles within a qualifying multinational group. Start with the corporate relationship, overseas employment and the actual US assignment.
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United States
Corporate transfers, business and capital planning, and achievement-led US pathways.
Complete analysisUnited States:
United States:
the full mobility picture.
Route map, corporate transfers, talent and founder routes, family, compliance, timelines and a mobility capital analysis, in one guide with official sources.
Choose your perspectiveDifferent needs.
Different needs.
Different pathways.
Each service area leads to its own programme selection and detailed guidance.
Capital has different roles. Choose the right framework.
An operating-business investment, a job-creating immigrant investment and a government contribution are different decisions. Compare E-2, EB-5 and the Gold Card framework on legal status, qualifying capital, risk and family plans.
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O-1A is temporary work authorisation. EB-2 NIW, EB-1A and EB-1B are immigrant classifications with distinct tests. The right route depends on the work, the evidence and who can petition.
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Your options at a glance
L-1A: executives and managers
Transfer established leadership into a qualifying U.S. group company. L-1A can support an operating business or a new U.S. office, including semiconductor investment and supplier expansion, when the corporate relationship, overseas service and proposed management role are substantiated.
Established temporary work classificationRequirements, process & FAQsL-1B: specialised-knowledge transfers
Move employees who hold demonstrable knowledge of a group’s products, technology or internal processes. For semiconductor manufacturers and suppliers, the assessment connects the employee’s specific knowledge to the U.S. assignment, training history and delivery model.
Established temporary work classificationRequirements, process & FAQsE-2: treaty investor and entrepreneur
Establish or acquire an active U.S. business and develop it as a qualifying treaty investor. E-2 is a temporary, business-linked status for eligible treaty nationals; it is not a passive investment residence programme or an automatic green card.
Established treaty-based classificationRequirements, process & FAQsEB-5: immigrant investor
Pursue conditional permanent residence through a qualifying U.S. commercial investment and job creation. EB-5 requires a lawful, traceable capital contribution, a viable immigration structure and independent consideration of commercial risk.
Statutory programme remains in forceRequirements, process & FAQsTrump Gold Card: current framework
Understand the government’s gift-based immigrant process before committing capital. The official Gold Card portal is accepting applications, with Form I-140G used for the petition. The route operates within existing EB-1 or EB-2 classifications and remains subject to immigration eligibility and visa availability.
Official application process operationalRequirements, process & FAQsO-1A: extraordinary professionals and founders
A temporary work classification for people with extraordinary ability in science, education, business or athletics. A properly structured U.S. agent petition can cover documented engagements with several employers; an entrepreneur’s separate U.S. company may also petition when the legal requirements are met.
Established temporary work classificationRequirements, process & FAQsEB-2 National Interest Waiver
Build a permanent-residence case around a specific U.S. endeavour of substantial merit and national importance. NIW can suit researchers, technical specialists and entrepreneurs who meet the underlying EB-2 qualification and can justify waiving the normal job-offer and labour-certification requirements.
Established immigrant classification and discretionary waiverRequirements, process & FAQsEB-1A: extraordinary ability
An immigrant classification for people with sustained recognition at the top of their field in science, arts, education, business or athletics. It permits self-petitioning without a job offer, while requiring clear evidence of continued work in the United States and prospective benefit.
Established first-preference immigrant classificationRequirements, process & FAQsEB-1B: outstanding professors and researchers
A permanent-residence classification for internationally recognised professors and researchers with a qualifying U.S. employer and at least three years of relevant experience. It can suit academic institutions and established private research operations, including semiconductor and advanced-technology R&D.
Established employer-sponsored immigrant classificationRequirements, process & FAQsEB-1C: multinational executives and managers
EB-1C allows a qualifying US employer to sponsor an executive or manager for permanent residence on the strength of a year of managerial or executive service with a related entity abroad. There is no labour-certification stage, but the corporate relationship, the overseas year and the substance of both roles are tested closely. It is often the permanent-residence counterpart of an L-1A assignment, though it is a separate petition with its own requirements.
Established first-preference immigrant classificationRequirements, process & FAQsH-1B: specialty occupation workers
H-1B allows a US employer to employ a person in a specialty occupation, meaning a role that requires at least a bachelor's degree or its equivalent in a specific field. Most new H-1B employment is subject to an annual numerical cap allocated through an electronic registration, which since the FY 2027 season has been weighted by wage level. The employer must first obtain a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor and then petition USCIS; the person's status depends on the employer, the role and the wage throughout.
Established temporary work classification, cap-controlledRequirements, process & FAQsTN: Canadian and Mexican professionals under USMCA
TN classification implements the temporary-entry chapter of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. A Canadian or Mexican citizen with a prearranged professional role in one of the listed professions, and the qualifications that profession requires, may be admitted for up to three years at a time. There is no annual cap and no USCIS petition is needed for a Canadian applying at a port of entry, which makes TN one of the quickest employer-sponsored routes available, provided the profession and the role fit the list.
Established treaty-based temporary work classificationRequirements, process & FAQsJ-1 exchange visitor: research scholars, trainees and interns
The J-1 exchange visitor programme is administered by the Department of State through designated sponsors rather than by employer petition. The research scholar category supports up to five years of research, teaching or consultation at a US institution; the trainee and intern categories support structured, supervised training of up to 18 and 12 months respectively. The two-year home-country physical presence requirement under INA 212(e) attaches in defined cases and must be planned for before the programme begins, because it limits later moves to H, L or permanent status.
Established exchange-visitor classification administered by the Department of StateRequirements, process & FAQsAC21 adjustment portability: changing jobs with a pending green card
Employer-sponsored permanent residence normally ties the person to the petitioning employer and the offered job until the green card is granted. Section 204(j) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, enacted by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act, allows a person whose adjustment of status application has been pending for 180 days or more to move to a new job with the same or a different employer, or to self-employment, provided the new job is in the same or a similar occupational classification. This page explains the mechanism, its conditions and its limits.
Route mechanism: statutory flexibility within employer-sponsored permanent residenceRequirements, process & FAQsEB-3: skilled workers and professionals through PERM
EB-3 is the broadest employer-sponsored immigrant category. It covers skilled workers whose job requires at least two years of training or experience, professionals whose job requires a bachelor's degree, and a numerically restricted 'other workers' group. Every EB-3 petition rests on a labour certification from the Department of Labor obtained through the PERM process, which tests whether qualified US workers are available for the job at the prevailing wage. The route is methodical rather than fast, and its timing is governed by the Visa Bulletin.
Established third-preference immigrant classificationRequirements, process & FAQsPERM labour certification: the employer's labour-market test
A permanent labour certification is the Department of Labor's confirmation that there are not sufficient US workers able, willing, qualified and available for a job, and that employing a foreign national will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed US workers. It is a prerequisite for most EB-2 and EB-3 petitions. The process is employer-led, document-heavy and rule-bound: the wage is set by the government, the recruitment is prescribed, and the file must survive an audit years later.
Route mechanism: Department of Labor labour certification under 20 CFR Part 656Requirements, process & FAQsB-1 business visitor: what it permits and where it stops
The B-1 classification admits a person temporarily for legitimate business activities of a commercial or professional nature that do not amount to local employment or labour for hire. It covers consulting with business associates, negotiating contracts, attending conferences, litigation and independent research. It does not cover productive work for a US entity, and the line is tested at the consulate, at the port of entry and, increasingly, through employer compliance reviews. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries may carry out the same activities for up to 90 days with an ESTA instead of a visa.
Established visitor classification with strict limits on activityRequirements, process & FAQs