They are refused when the evidence proves general expertise rather than special or advanced knowledge tied to the company. Qualifying knowledge may concern the employer's product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management, processes or procedures; it need not be unavailable in the U.S. labour market or held by only a few employees.
The comparison is company-specific knowledge, not labour-market availability
The statute's definition of specialized knowledge ties it to the petitioning company: its product, service, research, equipment, techniques, management or other interests, or an advanced level of knowledge of its processes and procedures. Comparisons with other workers or the time needed to transfer the knowledge may support the evidence, but there is no U.S.-labour-market test and the knowledge need not be narrowly held. Hypothetical example: a Shannon simulation firm's training-systems specialist holds industry certifications any competitor's staff could hold, which does not establish specialized knowledge, and also knows the firm's proprietary scenario-authoring toolchain, its data formats and its integration method for legacy customer systems, which can.
The petition must show how that company-specific knowledge is special or advanced and why the Florida subsidiary needs it for an identified purpose. The structural conditions are unchanged from L-1A: a continuous qualifying year abroad within three years, a qualifying corporate relationship, and two operating entities. Nationality is not a condition.
Five years is the maximum.