Do not assume an individual immigration permission transfers between employees. Assess the actual replacement person and process.
Keep the applicant identified
Comparable knowledge does not make separate case records interchangeable. L-1B stay is capped at five years.
The sequence to plan is document gathering, petition preparation and filing, adjudication with or without premium processing, then admission, which for a Canadian citizen follows the approval without a separate visa interview. Confirm the qualifying corporate relationship and one continuous year of eligible foreign employment during the preceding three years, then obtain the required petition approval or status before productive installation begins. L-1B supports special organizational knowledge or an advanced level of process-and-procedure knowledge; a delayed launch cannot be filled with generic labour unrelated to that claim. Identify which facts require fresh review and whether further filings are needed before the new activity begins, and keep the actual approval and status dates visible rather than relying on an external delivery deadline. Initial approval for an established U.S. entity is generally up to three years, with extension to the ceiling; time spent physically outside the United States does not consume the limit in the same way.
- USCIS — L classification documentation and evidence
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.12
- 8 USC 1184 — specialized knowledge definition
- USCIS — employment authorization for certain spouses
- ICE — nonimmigrant classes that may study
- USCIS — fee schedule
- Official regulatory L foreign-capacity and new-office standards