In order to qualify, a foreign national must have been employed by a firm or corporation or other legal entity which is or will be doing business as an employer in the United States and m at least one other country Mm United States and foreign businesses must be legal entities doing business m the United States. Therefore, if a U. S. employer has only one affiliated entity abroad which ceases to do business after the employee is transferred, the employee will no longer qualify as an intracompany transfer. The qualifying organization must be a firm or corporation or other legal entity or a parent or branch thereof and the individual must seek to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue working for the same employer or parent or branch thereof. The United States and foreign business must be legal entities and ownership and control are the factors which establish a quality relationship between the business entities. The general rule is that one company which is a party to the transfer must have effective control of the other company.
Ownership means legal right of possession with full power and authority to control.
Control means the right and authority to direct the management and operations of the business entity. The employer must document ownership and control of both legal entities to meet the qualifying relationship as specified in the regulations. An intracompany transfer in executive or management classification will have a maximum period of stay of seven years in the United States. An individual in specialized knowledge capacity will be able to stay a maximum of five years. After remaining in the U.S. for the limitation of stay, an individual must remain outside the United States for at least one continuous year before reapplying for L intracompany transfer status.