Does the foreign company need to pay me the home country minimum wage?

No. For the L-1 visa, what matters is that your compensation complies with the labor laws of the location in the United States where you will work, not with the minimum wage in effect in the company’s home country. The applicable wage standard is determined by where the work is actually performed.

The L-1 transfers an employee from an overseas office to a branch or subsidiary in the U.S. Once the person begins performing duties on U.S. soil, the employer must observe local labor regulations, including the compensation standards applicable to the area and the role.

• Compensation follows the rules of the U.S. work location.
• The home country’s minimum wage is not the required benchmark.
• The employer must comply with applicable U.S. labor law.

Since labor regulations and compensation benchmarks vary by location and role, it is worth confirming the current requirements with official sources or a specialist before the transfer.

About the author

Victoria Harper

Editor-in-Chief

Meet the author

As a journalist and lead editor at Visto n’ Visa, Victoria helps ensure that immigration topics are covered in a clear, trustworthy, and easy-to-understand way. Her focus is on delivering useful, human, and relevant content for people exploring new paths abroad.