Posted on May 31 2024

What is the difference between the US H-1B Visa and L1 Visa?

By
Anshul Singhal
, Editor

Updated June 07 2024

What is the difference between the US H-1B Visa and L1 Visa?

The US H-1B visa is for the experienced skilled professionals in STEM occupation whereas the L1 Visa is for the intra-company transferees. People who are applying for H-1B visa must have a job offer from an US employer while the L1 Visa applicants must be working for a minimum of 3 years in the current company. L1 visa is divided into two categories:

L1A - Employees at managerial and executive levels apply through this pathway
L1B - Staff with the specialized knowledge or a particular skill set apply through this pathway.

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H-1B Visa vs. L1 Visa

The differences between the US H-1B Visa and the L1 Visa are as follows:

Features	H-1B Visa	L1 Visa
Eligibility	Professionals from Skilled or specialty occupations	A manager, an executive, or a worker with special skills
Employment Requirements	Must have a job offer from an US employer	Intra-company transferees
Work Experience	Previous work experience is not mandatory	Three years of work experience in the overseas branch is required
Educational Qualifications	A minimum of a bachelor's degree is required.	No requirement for educational qualifications.
The US Department of Labour Approval	Approval from the US DOL is required	Approval from the US DOL is not required
Changing the employer	Employees can change their employer	Employees cannot change their employer
Dependents	Spouse and children (who are under 21 and unmarried) can apply through H-4 Visa	Spouse and children (who are under 21 and unmarried) can apply through L2 Visa.
Salary requirements	No minimum salary requirements. They must be paid as per the job role.	There is no minimum salary requirement.
Validity	Valid for 3 years and can be renewed for another 3 years.	L-1A visa is valid for 7 years L-1B Visa is valid for 5 years
Green Card	Can apply for Green Card after completing 6 years with the visa.	The employees can apply for green card, once their residency status is change from temporary to permanent. They can change their status submitting an application to USCIS.
Intake	Annual intake of 85,000 65,000 are for skilled workers 20,000 for people with Master's degrees	There is no annual intake quota for this visa.