I-129S Form

Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition

If you wish to apply for an L-Blanket Visa on the basis of an L-Blanket registration of the group of companies, you must fill in the application form I-129S. Below you will find all important information about the I-129S form.

 

What is the I-129S form?

The I-129S application form is called Nonimmigrant Petition Based on Blanket L Petition, which indicates which application procedures it is used for. The I-129S form is used in the context of consular L-blanket visa applications. Foreign employees, who are to be employed as Manager, Executive or Specialised Knowledge Professionals, can go through a simplified application procedure in contrast to the regular L-1 visa. L-Blanket procedures are usually applied for directly in the U.S. consulate - i.e. outside the USA - because of the simplified application procedure.

However, certain L-Blanket application processes may also fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For example, requests for status extensions or status changes within the USA.

New version of the I-129S form

A new version of the I-129S form will be used from March 16, 2020. Although this new version of the form is already available for download from the USCIS website, the old version of the form will be accepted until mid-March.

By the way, the respective versions can be distinguished by the edition dates, which can be found on the bottom left of each form page. The new publication date is 11/08/19, while the previous form I-129S had the edition date 06/02/16.

Attention: Applicants for an L-Blanket work visa must use the new version with the edition date 11/08/19 from 03/16/20 onwards. The use of an outdated version means that the application will not be accepted by the U.S. authorities.

We recommend to use the new I-129S form for all new L-Blanket applications from now on. If you are in the middle of your L-Blanket application, have already completed the form and the visa interview takes place before the above-mentioned deadline, the information does not need to be transferred to the new form.

The following changes have been made to the form:

  1. Page 2, part 2, question 3From now on, there is a concrete "yes/no" question that did not exist before. This must be ticked accordingly. Again for your information: This question refers exclusively to periods of stay with U.S. work visas such as E, L, O or H. In particular, H or L should be mentioned here, as these periods count against the maximum length of stay of the respective applicant in the last 7 years.
  2. Form movedThe new question shifts the I-129S form slightly. In particular, the petitioner's signature field is now on page 5 and no longer on page 6.

There are no additional queries in the new I-129S.