Jonny_NY

Hi,

I (Brit) transferred from the UK to work in US on L-1B since Sept 09. My fiancee (also Brit) came over at same time on B-2. We are enjoying the experience so far. We are getting married May'10 which we will travel back to UK for shortly before. After the wedding, we would like to go back to US and then straight on honeymoon to Puerto Rico. Due to US vacation, we only planned to be in UK for about a week for wedding before getting back to go on honeymoon.

Regarding updating her passport with new surname and change B-2 to L-2, what is the best way/order to do this? As we will be traveling back to UK just before wedding, we can't submit passport early to change name in advance as it's needed to travel.

Questions we thought of are;
1) Do you need to be in UK (visit the US Embassy in London for interview in person) to change B-2 to L-2 status or can this be done whilst in US with I-539? If it's possible, will it take ages (months) to process through the I-539?
2)As she wants to change surname after wedding, should that be done before we start changing visa types?
3) Can we just wait until after honeymoon and all the travel to update both passport and visa in US?
3) If we submit UK passport to update her surname (either in UK or via Brit Embassy in Washington), will she 'loose' the use of the attached visa and will that matter if the visa was associated with her 'old' surname?
4) Can you get an old invalid passport back (with old surname) after a new passport is sent?

Any help or advice would be muchly appreciated- realise it's a long-winded set of questions but we're a little stuck with this!

Regards

Jonathan

ian-mstm

If she changes her name on the passport, her plane tickets *must* match. If tickets are already booked, she should not change her name on the passport - which, by the way, is *not* a requirement for her to get an L-2 visa. All she'll need is proof of your L-1 visa and a copy of the marriage certificate. Once you're back in the US, she can get a new passport by applying at the UK Embassy in Washington, DC.


This is probably the easiest of your other choices. She can change her status from within the US, but if she wants to work, she must enter the US in L-2 status - so that means a trip outside the US... not necessarily back to the UK, just outside the US so she can enter the US with her new visa status.


She will not lose the use of the visa, and it won't matter that her surname is different.


Yes, it will be returned. The passport will be invalidated (since she'll have a new one), but that does not affect the validity of the visa.

Ian

meauxna

And if there is plenty of validity time left on the passport, she can have her new surname amended in the back, yes? I don't think she has to get a whole new passport.

Jonny_NY

Thanks very much for the info- as suggested, it sounds best to wait until we are back in US before changing anything. Had no idea about amending the passport so that was helpful. Also, does anyone know,

1) Approximately, how long would it take to get visa changed from B-2 to L-2 whilst we are in US? If we did it in UK, would we need to go through interviews at embassy but would it be quicker?

2) Do you need to hire an immigration lawyer to facilitate changing B-2 to L-2 or is it a simple case of filling forms and submitting the correct paperwork/certificates?

3) Will a flight from US to Canada be enough to 'activate' the new L-2 visa if it's assigned from within the US?

Again, much appreciated for all the advise.

Jonathan

meauxna

You don't get the visa changed in the US; you can get the status changed via the form you mentioned before. This is not valid for travel; if she leaves the US again, she must go get a visa to return as an L-2.
Speak to the lawyers about potential problems entering as a B-2 & "changing status".

You don't get "visas" inside the US (only outside), and going to Canada to interview for the visa may or may not be possible.

ian-mstm

The *status* change doesn't take long at all. Once she changes status, she will not be able to travel and re-enter the US without first appearing at a foreign US consulate to actually get a new visa in her passport. You can not get a visa while inside the US.


Total waste of time!


You don't need an attorney to change status.


By itself, flying to Canada will do nothing. She must appear at a US consulate in Canada to actually get the visa in her passport. That means she needs to make an appointment in either Toronto or Montreal (I'm guessing they're the 2 closest to you if you're in NY). This isn't a difficult process, but it's going to take a few days outside the US. You should know that while Canada is usually accommodating for TCNs (third country nationals (ie. you're neither American nor Canadian)) they are not obligated to process the paperwork... but, as I say, they're usually quite accommodating.

Ian