[sparkzilla]

I was on this visa. You must have been running the business in your home country for at least one year, and you must continue to keep the business running in your home country while you are in the U.S. (The U.S. office is supposed to be a branch). You also need sufficient funds (at least $100K, but $150K is safer). However once you get it, you can renew it for up to seven years, and, unlike the E-2, it has a path to getting a green card

[braindead_in]

How long did the L1 application take for you? I filed my petition 2 months ago and am still waiting to hear back from USCIS. Keeping my fingers crossed; 50-50 chance that it'll be approved I guess.

[sparkzilla]

We did express processing. It took about seven weeks.

[aytekin]

The downside is you have to renew it every year. Costly if the lawyer does it and too much waste of time.

With E2, you get it for 5 years and no more paperwork every year. Then you renew it for another 5 years.

[sparkzilla]

Renewal is every two years.

[Finbarr]

Seems ideal for certain circumstances, e.g., with a remote dev team in your home country.