The Blanket L1 visa Petition
Organizations which have been doing business in the United States for a minimum of one year and:-
Are engaged in commercial trade or services (i.e. charities, etc., do not qualify for a ‘ blanket);
Have at least 3 offices in the US and overseas; and
Have either:
Sponsored at least 10 successful individual L1 petitions in the last 12 months;
US annual sales exceeding $25,000,000; or
A US work force of at least 1000 employees.
can include an unlimited number of qualifying foreign parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or branch offices in a ‘blanket’ petition. If approved, a blanket petition considerably speeds up subsequent L1 visa applications (from 4-6 weeks to about 10 days), which are processed at the US consulate in the employee’s own country rather than by the INS in the United States. The transferring employee of a foreign organization covered by the blanket petition merely has to prove his/her own eligibility as an Executive/Manager or a Specialized Knowledge Worker, rather than both this and the relationship between the US and foreign employers. However, note that a ‘specialized knowledge worker coming to the US under a blanket L1 approval must be a professional – i.e. qualify for an H1B ‘speciality occupation’.
