US Immigration Lawyer

D&A Obtains Three L-1 Visa Client Petition Approvals in Single Day

The approvals are the culmination of hard work from our L-1 Visa team throughout the pandemic.

Davies & Associates received the great news that three of our L-1 visa petitions were approved today. The L-1 Visa allows a manager, executive, or specialized-knowledge employee to transfer to the existing or newly established US office of a related company they work for overseas.

Two of the petitions were for employees in the same UK company, operating in the renewables and hydrocarbon space. When the client came to us, they were starting to feel hopeless because everyone that they have spoken to told them getting an L-1 petition approved for their team is not possible. We took the case and perservered, and now one manager and one executive have received and approval for their L-1A visa.

The L-1A Visa, which is specifically for managers & executives, is renewable for up to a maximum of seven years. The L-1B Visa, which is for specialized-knowledge employees, is renewable upto a maximum of five years.  

The company owns and operates five of the world’s most advanced and capable self-propelled jack-up vessels that have been built specifically to perform in the harsh environment of the North Sea and provide safe and efficient offshore solutions all over the world.  The vessels are designed to comply with the stringent regulations required to work in the international oil and gas sector. With a track record of over 500 wind turbine installations, the vessels have proven that they provide an effective solution to the installation and maintenance of offshore wind turbines and foundations. Likewise, the vessels have brought a new dimension to maintenance, modification, construction and decommissioning of oil & gas wells and platforms in the North Sea. 

The petitioning US company has a cooperation agreement with one of the biggest energy companies in the US. The US company provides consultancy and engineering services designed to ensure the successful construction of, as well as operation and maintenance of wind turbine Installation vessels specifically designed for the installation of offshore wind turbines. It will support the design and construction of self-propelled vessels that will ensure safe operation in various weather conditions and more hostile sea conditions.  

The unique nature of the industry and the unconventional business operations of the group of companies proved to be challenging, but in the end, we are glad to share that the two petitions have been approved. We are looking to file 3 more L-1 petitions for specialized employees for the client soon.

Kudos to our great team for tremendous effort on these two petitions. We had to work on the Request for Evidence (RFEs) and get the responses filed during the holidays.

The third approval is for a client who came to us with a Request for Evidence. The Indian and US companies operate playground/entertainment centers for children. The L-1A petition was prepared by another attorney. The petition had a lot of inconsistencies and discrepancies in the forms and the cover letter. There was also a serious discrepancy in the DS-160 pertaining to the beneficiary’s executive experience. On top of that, the duties and responsibilities were generic and poorly prepared. Thankfully, our response convinced USCIS to approve the petition. 

The L-1 Visa allows for the intracompany transfer of a qualifying employee to the United States. The related US business can be an existing business or a newly established one. The L-1 visa therefore provides a great opportunity to expand your business and move to the US to oversee the establishment and growth of the enterprise.

Contact us to discuss your interest in the L-1 Visa


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.


EB-5 Regional Center Program faces reauthorization in the US

Biden Reverses Trump-era Policy on Visa Rejection Procedure

Immigration officers can no longer reject visa applications without first issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny

By Tishita Agarwal

In 2018, the Trump administration set a policy that would allow immigration officers to reject visa applications for visas such as the H1-B Visas, L-1 Visas, H-2B, J-1, J-2, I, F and O-1 visas, without issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny. This Trump-era policy invalidated the principle of a June 2013 USCIS memo that required immigration officers to issue a Request For Evidence or a Notice Of Intent to Deny when the case suggests that additional or supplementary evidence could potentially establish eligibility for an immigration benefit. 

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a statement that it was returning to the principles of the June 2013 memo. This means the officers will be allowed to request potential missing documents that could qualify a case. Furthermore, this move will not only help requesters get an “opportunity to correct innocent mistakes and unintentional omissions”, but also increase access to the US legal immigration system in general. 

This is not the first time that Biden has overturned immigration policies set by the Trump administration. In fact, right on the first day of his term, President Biden had announced several executive policy changes to the US immigration system, including suspending the construction of the wall at the Mexican border and reaffirming protections for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

Along with changing their guidance towards notice of intent to deny and requests for evidence, the USCIS issued a statement that they are also increasing the validity period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from one year to two years. Increasing the validity for these documents will allow the USCIS to shift their limited resources to priority areas, as it is projected to reduce the number of employment authorisation requests they receive. 

These recent decisions are all steps in the direction the Biden-Harris administration promised at the start of their term in an effort to make immigration to the US easier and fairer and eliminate unnecessary barriers on all levels; as put by the Secretary of Homeland security Alejandro N. Mayorkas: “We are taking action to eliminate policies that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system and will continue to make improvements that help individuals navigate the path to citizenship, and that modernise our immigration system”. 

In furtherance to the same, Acting USCIS Director also said “These policy measures are consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities to eliminate unnecessary barriers to our nation’s legal immigration system and reduce burdens on non-citizens who may be eligible for immigration benefits”.

While this action is in the right direction, the Biden-Harris administration has far to go before the US legal immigration system is not as congested and inefficient as it is currently. 

What is the L-1 Visa?

* The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, which can be used by active US employers or those who wish to establish in the US to send experienced and skilled employees from overseas to the US to grow or expand the business. There are two types of this temporary work visa – the L-1A is for executives and managers, and the L-1B visa is suited for high-level employees with specialised knowledge. 

What is the O-1 Visa?

The O-1 visa on the other hand, requires the applicant to show remarkable skill or high levels of achievement in their field to be able to qualify. This is also a nonimmigrant visa, and is suitable for candidates that possess and demonstrate an extraordinary ability in science, the arts, education, business, athletics, or film & television and a variety of other professions. This means that a candidate must have sustained national or international acclaim in their field, or a distinction or record of extraordinary achievement in film and television. An O-1 beneficiary must possess either a major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize; or at least 3 of the alternative criteria.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.