Blanket L Organization Eligibility
Blanket L Petition Requirements for Multinational Companies
The regulatory size, structure, U.S. operating history, commercial activity, and alternative threshold requirements for Blanket L approval.
Direct answer
What the governing framework requires
A company seeking Blanket L must satisfy several organizational requirements. The petitioner and listed organizations must engage in commercial trade or services; the petitioner must have a U.S. office doing business for at least one year; the organization must have at least three domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates; and the group must satisfy at least one of three additional size or L-usage thresholds.
01 · Commercial Activity
The petitioner and each listed organization must engage in commercial trade or services
Blanket L is intended for established commercial multinational organizations.
The regulation requires qualifying business activity among the entities included in the blanket.
02 · U.S. Operating History
The petitioner needs an established U.S. office
The petitioning organization must have a U.S. office that has been doing business for at least one year.
This is one reason the blanket procedure cannot be used to establish a new office.
03 · Corporate Structure
The organization must have at least three domestic and foreign related entities
The regulation requires three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates.
The ownership and control of entities included in the blanket must satisfy the qualifying organization definitions.
04 · Alternative Thresholds
The multinational must satisfy at least one additional scale requirement
The group must have obtained approval of at least ten L petitions for managers, executives, or specialized knowledge professionals during the previous twelve months, or have U.S. subsidiaries or affiliates with combined annual sales of at least $25 million, or have a U.S. workforce of at least 1,000 employees.
05 · Listed Organizations
Only qualifying organizations should be included
The blanket petition should identify the parent, branches, subsidiaries, and affiliates intended to use the procedure.
USCIS can approve only those entities that meet the qualifying organization requirements.
06 · Evidence
Document both the group structure and the applicable threshold
- Ownership chart
- Corporate records
- U.S. office operating history
- Commercial activity records
- Prior L approvals
- Audited or reliable sales evidence
- U.S. workforce records
- Entity list
Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions
How long must the U.S. office operate before Blanket L?
The petitioner must have a U.S. office that has been doing business for at least one year.
How many related entities are required?
The regulation requires three or more domestic and foreign branches, subsidiaries, or affiliates.
Must the company have 1,000 U.S. employees?
No. A U.S. workforce of 1,000 is one of three alternative additional thresholds.
What are the other thresholds?
The alternatives include at least ten qualifying L petition approvals during the prior twelve months or combined annual U.S. subsidiary or affiliate sales of at least $25 million.
Can a nonprofit organization use Blanket L?
The current FAM describes the blanket procedure as intended for relatively large established commercial organizations and notes that its criteria exclude small and nonprofit organizations.
Does USCIS approve every entity in the corporate group automatically?
No. Only entities meeting the qualifying organization requirements can be covered.
Case-specific review
Test all Blanket L thresholds before filing
A review can determine whether the group satisfies the commercial activity, entity, operating history, and alternative scale requirements.
Request a Consultation