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APPLICATION ANSWERS · L-1B FIELD GUIDE

Does being a long-serving employee establish L-1B automatically?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. The actual qualifying knowledge and proposed use must be explained.

Move from tenure to evidence

Identify meaningful examples and the applicant’s contribution. Time with the company alone is not the complete specialized-knowledge assessment.

The regulation defines specialized knowledge as special knowledge of the petitioning organization's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management or other interests and its application in international markets, or an advanced level of knowledge or expertise in the organization's processes and procedures. What the statute forbids is an arrangement that amounts to labour for hire: one where the client principally controls and supervises the worker, or where the placement is not connected to a product or service requiring the petitioner's specialized knowledge. Show the company-specific context through training or project records and let counsel apply the actual legal standard — a concrete, supportable account is more persuasive than a sweeping claim of expertise. L-1B also requires one continuous qualifying year abroad within the applicable preceding three, active entities linked through a qualifying parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate relationship, and U.S. duties that actually use the asserted knowledge.