captainsensible

Hypothetical question alert...

My company are allegedly going to transfer me to the USA on a L1 visa. I say allegedly because although I know they have submitted a blanket visa petition, I don't know much else!

Now, I am married to a USC (in January 2012) and wondered if it were possible, if we went through the CR1 process, for me to then enter the USA as a permanent resident and continue working for my company in the USA instead of the getting the L1 (I appreciate that SHOULD be a quicker process but you don't know my company!). To clarify there is no vacancy in the USA, it is purely a transfer.

Sorry if this is in the wrong section, it seemed more about work rather than marriage related!

Thanks!

Noorah101

An intercompany transfer would be some sort of L visa. I think there are two types, but they are both L. Maybe L1A and L1B.

Yes, your USC wife can petition for you to get an Immigrant Visa. That process takes about 8 to 10 months, so if your company doesn't mind waiting, that's certainly an option. You would be work authorized from Day 1 in the USA after arrival on your Immigrant Visa, so there wouldn't be any break in work.

The advantage of doing an L visa over an Immigrant Visa is that with an L visa, the company pays for your visa and your move to the USA. I guess they might still be willing to pay for your move, but with the Immigrant Visa you'd be paying all the immigration cost. Although even if you had the company pay for an L visa, and then once inside the USA you wanted to adjust status to permanent resident (via your marriage), you'd end up paying for that, anyway.

Rene

rpjs

I did exactly that. My wife is a USC and we decided to move to the US, doing the IV procedure (I was IR-1 as our marriage was older than two years). My company is a US-based company so I asked for a transfer to the New York office subject to my getting an IV on my own merits which was granted.

It made our emigration to the US much easier as a) we knew we'd have an income from day 1, and b) the Consular Officer accepted my employer's letter confirming my transfer and what my US salary would be as evidence my income would continue from the same source so I was able to use that for the I-864 without us having to get a jpint sponsor.

In my case it was I that wanted the transfer of course. Rene's comments about going the L route so your company pays for the visa and then adjusting status in the US have a lot of merit!

scrubbedexpat099

With an L1 the Company would be paying.

lj2

Although it's also perfectly feasible that, if they want you to transfer, they'd just increase your signing on fee / relocation allowance to cover your costs if you pay for your own Visa application (non L1).

It'll be a negotiation issue.

captainsensible

Thank you for your responses - it looks like it could be a viable alternative then.