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LETHBRIDGE COUNTY · L-1A FIELD GUIDE

Will premium processing make up for a thin managerial record in a Lethbridge County L-1A petition?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. Premium processing buys a faster decision at additional fee; it buys nothing about the outcome. A petition that describes a working foreman will be refused quickly rather than slowly.

Spend on the record, then on speed

The government costs of an L-1A petition consist of the Form I-129 filing fee, the fraud prevention and detection fee, any asylum program fee applicable to the employer's size, and the optional premium-processing fee, all listed in the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055, which should be checked at filing because the amounts change. Premium processing commits USCIS to act within a stated window, which is useful when the harvest calendar is fixed, but the action can be an approval, a denial or a request for evidence. Money spent on organizing the record produces a better return: a staffing plan for the U.S.

outfit, a job description drawn from it, payroll records that prove the continuous year, and corporate documents that prove the affiliate relationship. Professional fees for preparing those are a business expense of the petitioning employer. Do not budget the transferee's personal savings for the employer's petition; the employer is the applicant, and the arrangement should look that way.