NPZ Immigration Law Blog

The blanket L is an oral application. A visa will not be issued based solely on the company support letter. Each applicant must be able to concisely and articulately explain the intended job duties in the U.S. as well as his or her qualifications for the role. When preparing a blanket L applicant, it is essential to clearly explain the legal standard and criteria for the category. In addition, the applicant must be able to explain how he or she satisfies the criteria. 
 
L-1A: Preparing an applicant for an L-1A requires the applicant to explain how many people will be managed whether directly or indirectly. If the job involves managing a function, the worker must be able to explain why and how that function is critical. The easiest way to verbally explain is often using numbers. If there is a budget value for the team or unit they manage, the applicant should be prepared to state that figure as well as their salary if it is significant. 

Blanket L-1 not available for all companies

L-1B: If preparing an applicant for an L-1B specialized knowledge visa, the applicant must also be a member of a profession and be able to clearly identify that profession. Other critical information the L-1B applicant should be able provide in layman’s terms include: 

• I have expertise and skills gained from [length of employment] years working at [foreign company] working in [brief summary of job] 
• I have [example of specialized knowledge] 
• I also have knowledge of the [example of proprietary company products and processes] 
• I am the only person at [foreign company] with this knowledge and expertise, which is why I am needed in the US 
• I am needed in at [US affiliate] because no one in the US office has this knowledge and expertise

Link here: https://www.aila.org/advo-media/aila-practice-pointers-and-alerts/interpreting-changes-to-blanket-l-standards