the scotsman

Hi Some help please.
I currently live in Houston on an L1B visa. Been here 2 1/2yrs and now my company wants to send me home. I have bben to a lawyer and one of the only ways i can stay is to marry. So my girl (US citizen) and I have decided to get married. Not sure of the stages we need to take and if i can work etc
Any advice on the process, the time taken and any information relating to me being able to work etc would be fantastic! Thanks in advance

snowbunny

Another one bites the dust!

When does your visa expire?

the scotsman

My L1B still runs til May 2011. But my work wants me back in the UK at the end of May 2009.
thanks

Noorah101

After you and your girl get married (the sooner the better) and have the certified copy of marriage certificate in hand, you need to gather and file all the following documents (all of which are found at www.uscis.gov, Immigration Forms):

I-130 - petition for alien relative (spouse)
I-485 - adjustment of status
G-325A - biographical information
I-864 - affidavit of support
I-765 - employment authorization document (EAD)
I-131 - advance parole travel document (AP)

The USC fills out the I-130, I-864, and one of the G-325A's, you fill out the rest. Read all the instructions for all the forms carefully, a lot of information and required documents are repeated. Treat each application separately and provide exactly what they ask for.

You will also need a full medical exam done by a USCIS approved doctor. List of doctors is also on www.uscis.gov somewhere. You will be given the results of your exam in a sealed envelope. This sealed envelope should be included in your AOS package.

Fee for the I-130 is currently $355
Fee for the rest of the AOS paperwork is currently $1,010
Fee for the medical exam varies, check with the doctor, they set their own price.

All paperwork get sent all together in one package to one address, including the sealed medical results. Check the front page of the I-485 form at www.uscis.gov for the correct mailing address.

After filing AOS, you will be directed to go to get fingerprints done (biometrics appointment). Between 60 - 90 days after filing AOS, you should receive the AP and EAD. If your L1B runs out before you have the EAD in hand, you are not work authorized until you receive the EAD in hand.

Somewhere between 3 to 12 months after filing AOS, you should be notified of an in-person AOS interview at your local district office, which you and your wife both attend.

In the meantime, collect evidence of your joint married life together (rent, mortgage, tax returns filed married, joint banking, property ownership, utility bills, health insurance, car insurance, club memberships, photos together, anything at all that shows your co-mingled joint life). You will need to show all this at your AOS interview. If approved at the AOS interview, you will receive your green card a few weeks later in the mail.

Best Wishes,
Rene

jeffreyhy

s,

You might want to phrase it a bit differently when speaking with any immigration folks.

Regards, JEff

Noorah101

I was reading your past thread...after all that work you did to get your boss' wife her L2 last year, they want to get rid of you now! tsk!

Did that all work out OK, by the way?

Rene

the scotsman

Hi Rene,
Yes i Got married 4 weeks ago and am very happy. Just waiting for the marriage certificate to come through the post. Then will file all the paperwork with UScis. Still heading home at the end of the month,
if i decide to stay, what would i need to do? In respect of changing my status from L1? I dont want to go home and be refused entry on return to the states?

Best Regards
Andy

meauxna

If you are going to leave by the end of the month, you really only have the choice of having your wife petition you for a visa.
You can return as a visitor, but you can't come back to stay without an immigrant visa (the K-3 visa has no advantage for you). If you return without a visa and are not just visiting, you may be refused entry.

If you are not going to leave, you file a different set of papers to adjust status (not change).

Noorah101

Hi Andy,

In post #4 of this thread, I've outlined what you need to do in order to adjust your status.

A word of caution....do NOT file the AOS paperwork and then leave the USA. Take your trip first, and then when you return to the USA using your L1, then file the AOS paperwork. After you file AOS, if you leave the USA before having that appropriate travel document in hand, your AOS will be considered abandoned.

Rene

Noorah101

Can't he return to the USA on his L1, and then file AOS once he's back in the USA?

Rene

Noorah101

Oh, I see. His company is sending him home for good!

Andy, meauxna's post is correct. If you leave the USA, you'll need to return to the USA on an Immigrant Visa (your USC wife petitions for you, and takes about 8 - 10 months to process). Or, you can stay in the USA now, don't go back home, and do the AOS process. About 60 - 90 days after filing AOS, you'll receive a document allowing you to travel abroad and safely return to the USA....but you won't have that by the end of this month!

Rene

the scotsman

So stay in the states on my L1B..And file for AOS.

So really need my work not to cancel my L1B? They arn't legally obliged to do this are they?

What happens if they do cancel my L1B? Is there any other way to stay here just now until my travel documnent arrives?

Thanks for the help guys i would have been in such a mess if we did it the way we were going to do it!!!!

best regards
Andy

Noorah101

Is your employer willing to keep you on, working in the USA?

If your employer wants to cancel your L1B and terminate you, they can do so. Once you file the AOS paperwork, you are allowed to stay in the USA, waiting for a decision on your AOS. You just won't be able to work until you have the EAD (employment authorization document) in hand, about 90 days after filing AOS.

Not much, except that you won't be working.

Yes, once you file the AOS paperwork, you are allowed to stay. Even if your L1B gets cancelled before you file for AOS, that overstay gap will be forgiven by USCIS.

Rene

meauxna

Once your legit I-485 & other documents are received by USCIS, you are allowed to remain in the US while you wait for a decision.
Specific to the L (and a very few other visa types), you can file your AOS *and* keep workingon your L-1 as long as it is valid and your company lets you.
If the company terminates you, your L-1 is instantly over, but in YOUR situation, you'd have the AOS filed to 'cover' your legal stay in the US.

You can not, however, work until you get the EAD based on your I-485, and you can't travel internationally until you get the AP based on your I-485. There is a lag of about 2-3 months for these documents, from filing.

So the way you stay is to file I-485 et al, and simply stay.
I don't know what sort of relationship you want to maintain with your employer, and if there is any good reason for you to go back to the UK for a while. If you do that, it will probably be a good 8-10 months before you'd get an immigrant visa for returning to the US to live.

the scotsman

Thanks for you help guys,
After considering the previous reply's i have tried to come up with another solution. if my wife was to file a petition on my behalf. I understand this could take 8-10 months, I am looking at working back in europe on a offshore month on month off rotation. During my time off i would be looking at spending my time in the US but not working. Is this allowed? Also another option would be to work in the gulf of mexico, Is either of these optioned wort looking at?