A convenient location and urgent course schedule do not grant U.S. work authorization. Assess the actual activity and required process before it begins.
Plan the first session around permission
Identify where the employee will perform the work, the proposed receiving organization and any customer placement. A pending filing is not automatically authorization for the assignment. Keep remote preparation from abroad distinct from work performed inside the United States, and do not treat the training launch date as a government decision deadline.
The adjudication step is predictable: an individual L-1B petition with premium processing receives a decision within the published premium window, and a Canadian citizen then presents the approval notice at a port of entry without a consular appointment. A change in duties, client placement, or the employing entity can affect the basis of the case, and the revised facts should be reviewed rather than assuming the original petition or plan already covers the new arrangement. When an L-1B worker is stationed primarily at an unaffiliated worksite, the unaffiliated employer cannot principally control and supervise the worker, and the placement cannot be essentially an arrangement to provide labour for hire rather than to use the petitioner’s specialized knowledge.
- USCIS — L classification documentation and evidence
- Department of State — 9 FAM 402.12
- 8 USC 1184 — specialized knowledge definition
- USCIS — employment authorization for certain spouses
- ICE — nonimmigrant classes that may study
- USCIS — fee schedule
- L definitions, foreign employment and new-office evidence
- L1B specialized knowledge and offsite placement statute