L1 alien's eligibility

All L1 employees must have been employed by the your company outside of the USA for at least one of the three years preceding the transfer unless the beneficiary of a blanket. It does not matter if the worker was directly employed by the sponsor, or paid through an agency or personal service company, or even on a freelance basis, provided the sponsor had management and control over the worker during the qualifying year.

The employee must have been employed during the qualifying year as an executive, manager, or specialized knowledge worker, though it permissible for a specialized knowledge worker to come to the United States as a Manager or Executive, and for a manager or executive to come as a specialized knowledge worker, provided the US operation has been doing business for at least one year.

As noted previously, the 'standard of proof' for managers and executives is quite strict – they must generally supervise other professional or managerial staff and/or direct and control the day-to-day operations of a significant function, unit or subdivision of the employer. Specialized knowledge workers, however, qualify relatively easily – any employee with familiarity with the employer's specific products, procedures or methods may qualify.