Ownership by a common group of owners where no owner has control or a majority interest can cause a problem if each individual owner does not own approximately the same amount of both the USA and the foreign company. This problem can sometimes be worked around if the owners have set up a voting agreement to ensure that there are not different groups controlling the foreign firm and the USA firm. Third , the applicant must be coming as a manager, executive or specialized knowledge employee. Typical executive positions are presidents, vice-presidents and controllers. Like executives, a qualifying manager will not be overseeing the primary performance of a task.
Exceptions apply when a manager or executive is coming to open a new office.
Fourth , the applicant must intend to depart the USA when his or her stay is over. BUT the applicant may also pursue permanent residency at the same time without a negative impact on the ability to keep or extend an L visa. This makes the L visa a popular option for multinational firms. Executives and managers may stay in L-1 status for up to 7 years. They are granted l-1A status.