USCIS has published a policy memo clarifying the requirement that a qualifying organization employ a principal L-1 beneficiary abroad for one continuous year out of the three years before the time of petition filing (“one-year foreign employment requirement”).  Please see memo (PDF).

The policy memo clarifies:

  • The L-1 beneficiary must be physically outside the United States during the required one continuous year of employment, except for brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure; and
  • The petitioner and the beneficiary must meet all requirements, including the one year of foreign employment, at the time the petitioner files the initial L-1 petition.

The one year of foreign employment must occur within the three-year period preceding the date the L-1 petition is filed. USCIS will calculate the three-year period during which the beneficiary must meet the one-year foreign employment requirement. The memo also clarifies what time will be taken into consideration in determining when the three-year period begins.