alfista1

Our company has successfully opened a new office in the US. We have 1 American manager in the office at the moment but have not sent any of our UK staff yet.

I have been given an offer for a relocation including my family.
HR told me we have an immigration advisor in the US at the moment.

Now I have been told that I do not need to be permanently based in the office. The state where it is situated is not favourable for us to raise our son and would prefer to live somewhere else. My bosses are fine with this.

My question is do I need to declare where I'll be living when applying for the L1? Will this complicate anything if I'm not resident in the state where the physical office is?
I'll probably be travelling into the office periodically.

This is something myself and HR are just beginning to look into.

TIA

Rete

I don't know the questions asked on the L application but I doubt it asks for a permanent address. If you are not living in the US, how would you have one? Many people work in one state, i.e. New York and reside in a border state such as New Jersey or Connecticut.

alfista1

When we applied for my wife's UK Visa we needed to prove we had somewhere to live.

Wondering if there is something similar on the L1 visa application.

I hope there isn't.

Noorah101

Are you not able to see the questions on the L visa application prior to having to submit the form?

Rene

alfista1

Also looking for people's personal experiences in the interview process.
Questions asked:

L1 Visa Stamping Interview Questions

Where will you work in the US?
Where will you stay in the US?

Concerned about how they will interpet a residential address far from the office.


Thanks

Pulaski

From what I remember, with an L-1A/B for a start-up, there has to be a suitable business premises, but AFAIK there is no necessary requirement for all employees to permanently work there. Not least because it would be impossible to enforce for many employees who spend time visiting clients, working at contract sites, meeting with suppliers, etc. wouldn't be at the office site anyway.
Tell them you haven't found a home yet, some short-term accommodation, until you find a suitable permanent home. Your L-1x isn't going to be denied just because you don't have a home yet.

Nutmegger

One thought that crosses my mind -- if you don't have to be in the new office, do you need to be in the US at all? Couldn't the job also be handled remotely from the UK? (Just thinking like a conoff.)

ian-mstm

What you're attempting to do, contrary to my 2nd rule, is trying to ascribe some sort of meaning to the questions... as though you think your answers must follow some sort of predetermined formula.

They're just questions! Believe it or not, you are allowed to live your life and change your mind on a whim about where to live.

If you haven't yet come across my 3 rules for filling out US immigration forms, I suggest you have a quick search. They shouldn't be too hard to find.

Ian

boltonreddave

Obtaining an L1 visa has absolutely nothing to do with where you will live an you do not need any US address at all. This is from personal experience. How can you be expected to have a US address before you even know if you have a visa. Answer any questions asked as part of the process but I doubt that where you will be living will be part of it.

Rete

Not that you don't already know this but the UK and US immigration processes are different and again, the processes differ from spousal visas to work visas.

Many people telecommunicate with the office instead of having to go there in person daily. So I doubt your living in a bordering state will be a issue.

AS for finding members who have gone the L visa route, I would suggest using our site's search function. British Expats - Search Forums

alfista1

Many thanks for your feedback guys.