L1A start date query
#1
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L1A start date query
We have finally had our L1A visa petition approved! We are just trying to work out dates to have our interview. Our visa will only be valid for 12 months as my husband is opening a new office for his employer.
Does the 12 month countdown start on the date we enter the US or the date the visa is stamped in our passport? I have read conflicting information. As twelve months such a short amount of time to get the new business up and running and meet USCIS requirements so that they renew our visas in twelve months we need to maximise the time we have. If the visa starts on the day we have the interview then we need to plan the timing carefully so that we are able to fly out as soon as we have our passports back and not waste time.
Does the 12 month countdown start on the date we enter the US or the date the visa is stamped in our passport? I have read conflicting information. As twelve months such a short amount of time to get the new business up and running and meet USCIS requirements so that they renew our visas in twelve months we need to maximise the time we have. If the visa starts on the day we have the interview then we need to plan the timing carefully so that we are able to fly out as soon as we have our passports back and not waste time.
#2
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Re: L1A start date query
It's the Petition Expiry Date (PED) not the visa expiry date that counts. It's the PED that gets stamped on your passport on entry and that's your I-94 date that you have legal status until.
#3
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Re: L1A start date query
Yikes, so the email we received from USCIS stated "Ending validity date 10/12/18" Does this mean that the clock is already ticking even though it may be another six weeks before we get out there? I thought that this date meant we could apply for the visas up until then.
Last edited by Tillymin; Oct 19th 2017 at 9:49 am.
#4
Re: L1A start date query
Yikes, so the email we received from USCIS stated "Ending validity date 10/12/18" Does this mean that the clock is already ticking even though it may be another six weeks before we get out there? I thought that this date meant we could apply for the visas up until then.
I have a stamp in my passport from the immigration officer, and that stamp expires at the 3 year anniversary of my petition approval, 31 October 2018. My visa is valid until 31 October 2020, but it always looks back at that petition expiry date.
#5
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Re: L1A start date query
I think you've misunderstood how the petition dates control the process. The clock is ticking and you're already a week into your petition validity. It doesn't matter when you visit the embassy or when you enter the US on the visa that they issue, your passport's going to be stamped with 10/12/18. Your end date is fixed and has already been determined. So the longer you take to get to the US, the more you're eating into your year. At the moment you can do a maximum of 51 weeks (a week has already passed), if you think you can get out on here in another 6 weeks, so arriving say early December, you're going to have approximately 45 weeks before you need to leave or have a renewed petition in place to allow you to stay longer.
Best get an appointment booked asap!
Best get an appointment booked asap!
Last edited by CA-NY; Oct 19th 2017 at 4:04 pm.
#6
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Re: L1A start date query
Interview booked for Monday
#7
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Re: L1A start date query
Good news. We were at the embassy 4 weeks ago. Our interview was booked for 8am on Monday, we joined the line at 7.30am and walked out of the embassy at 8.30am with L-1A / L2 visas approved. Passports were ready to collect on the Friday. Hope you have a similar experience.
#8
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Re: L1A start date query
That was very efficient. Unfortunately I think we will have more of a wait than you did as our appointment is not until 1:30pm. They didn't have any early slots available next week so we just booked the first appointment available.
#9
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Re: L1A start date query
Visas approved! It only took an hour and twenty minutes so not bad. After months and months of talking about it it's finally starting to feel real!