For Turkish executives, entrepreneurs, and professionals seeking to work in the United States, the employment-based visa landscape offers several pathways beyond the investor-focused E-2 and EB-5 categories. Two of the most strategically valuable are the O-1 Visa for individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement, and the L-1 Visa for intracompany transferees. Both offer significant advantages over the H-1B lottery system — neither is subject to an annual numerical cap.

The O-1 visa is available to individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary ability in their field — defined as a level of expertise indicating that the person is among the small percentage who have risen to the very top of their field. There are two O-1 subcategories relevant to Turkish professionals:

O-1A: Sciences, education, business, or athletics. This is the relevant category for most Turkish entrepreneurs, executives, and business professionals.

O-1B: Arts, motion picture, or television industry.

USCIS evaluates O-1A petitions against a list of evidentiary criteria. The petitioner must demonstrate that the beneficiary meets at least three of the following:

1. Receipt of nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field
2. Membership in associations that require outstanding achievement of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts
3. Published material about the person in professional or major trade publications or major media
4. Participation as a judge of the work of others in the same or allied field
5. Original scientific, scholarly, or business-related contributions of major significance
6. Authorship of scholarly articles in professional journals or major media
7. Employment in a critical or essential capacity for organizations with a distinguished reputation
8. High salary or remuneration in relation to others in the field

For Turkish entrepreneurs and business leaders, the most commonly satisfied criteria are: awards and recognition (industry prizes, Forbes lists, government recognition), media coverage in major Turkish or international publications, board memberships and advisory roles, and high compensation relative to industry peers.

Unlike many visa categories, the O-1 does not require a labor market test or prevailing wage determination. The petition is filed by a U.S. employer, agent, or sponsoring organization — not by the individual. This means a Turkish entrepreneur must either:

• Have a U.S. company (which they own or control) file the petition on their behalf, or
• Work with a U.S. agent who can file on behalf of multiple employers

Advisory Opinion: USCIS strongly recommends (and in some cases requires) a written advisory opinion from a peer group, labor organization, or management organization in the field. For business professionals, this typically means a letter from a relevant industry association or recognized experts attesting to the petitioner's extraordinary ability.

Initial Period: O-1 visas are granted for the duration of the event, activity, or employment — up to three years initially, with one-year extensions available indefinitely.

Processing: Premium processing (15 business days) is available for O-1 petitions, making this one of the faster visa pathways for qualified individuals.

The O-1A has become an increasingly popular pathway for Turkish tech founders, serial entrepreneurs, and business leaders seeking to relocate to the United States. Key factors that strengthen an O-1A petition for entrepreneurs include:

• Funding history: Venture capital investment from recognized funds is strong evidence of extraordinary ability
• Revenue and growth metrics: Demonstrable business success (revenue milestones, user growth, market share)
• Media coverage: Features in Milliyet, Hürriyet, Bloomberg HT, TechCrunch, Forbes, or similar publications
• Speaking engagements: Keynote presentations at recognized industry conferences
• Awards: Deloitte Technology Fast 50, EY Entrepreneur of the Year, government innovation awards

The L-1 visa allows multinational companies to transfer employees from a foreign affiliate, subsidiary, or parent company to a related U.S. entity. For Turkish companies with existing U.S. operations — or those establishing a U.S. presence — the L-1 is often the most straightforward path to bringing key personnel to the United States.

L-1A (Managers and Executives): For individuals who have been employed in a managerial or executive capacity abroad and are coming to the U.S. to serve in a managerial or executive role. The L-1A has a significant advantage: it is a direct pathway to the EB-1C green card (multinational manager/executive), which has no backlog for Turkish nationals and does not require a PERM labor certification.

L-1B (Specialized Knowledge): For employees with specialized knowledge of the company's products, services, research, equipment, techniques, management, or procedures. The specialized knowledge must be proprietary to the company — not general industry knowledge.

The L-1 requires a qualifying corporate relationship between the foreign and U.S. entities:

• Parent/Subsidiary: The U.S. entity is owned or controlled by the Turkish company, or vice versa
• Affiliate: Both entities are owned or controlled by the same parent or individual
• Branch: The U.S. entity is a branch office of the Turkish company

For Turkish companies establishing a new U.S. office, the L-1 New Office provision allows the transfer of a qualifying employee to set up operations — even before the U.S. entity has been fully established. The new office L-1 is initially granted for one year, after which the company must demonstrate that the U.S. operation has grown to support a managerial or executive position.

The L-1 beneficiary must have been employed by the qualifying foreign entity for at least one continuous year within the three years preceding the petition. This employment must have been in a qualifying capacity (managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge).

L-1 petitions are filed by the U.S. employer with USCIS. For companies that regularly transfer employees, USCIS offers a Blanket L designation — a pre-approved petition that allows individual employees to apply directly at a U.S. consulate without filing individual I-129 petitions, significantly streamlining the process.

Initial Period:

• L-1A: Up to 3 years (new office: 1 year), extendable to 7 years maximum
• L-1B: Up to 3 years (new office: 1 year), extendable to 5 years maximum

One of the most powerful features of the L-1A is its alignment with the EB-1C immigrant visa category. After one year of employment in the U.S. in a managerial or executive capacity, an L-1A holder's employer can file an I-140 immigrant petition under EB-1C. Key advantages:

• No PERM labor certification required: Unlike most employment-based green card categories, EB-1C does not require a lengthy and uncertain labor market test
• No backlog for Turkish nationals: Turkey is not a high-demand country for EB-1C purposes
• Priority date: EB-1C is a first-preference category, meaning visa numbers are generally immediately available for Turkish nationals

The L-1A → EB-1C pathway is one of the fastest routes to a green card for Turkish executives of multinational companies.

Establishing a U.S. entity first: Both the O-1 (when self-petitioning through a company) and the L-1 require a U.S. corporate entity. Turkish companies should establish their U.S. subsidiary or branch before initiating visa petitions. The entity formation process typically takes 2–4 weeks.

Timing the L-1 New Office: The one-year new office L-1 requires the company to demonstrate genuine business activity and growth within that year. Turkish companies should have a realistic business plan and sufficient capitalization to demonstrate that the U.S. operation is viable.

Dual intent: Both O-1 and L-1 visas permit "dual intent" — the holder may simultaneously pursue immigrant status (a green card) without jeopardizing their nonimmigrant visa status. This is a significant advantage over visa categories like the B-1/B-2 tourist visa, which require the holder to maintain nonimmigrant intent.

ULF New York advises Turkish companies and executives on the full spectrum of work authorization strategies — from initial entity formation to visa petition preparation, consular processing, and long-term immigration planning.