bdjm

Hi,

I have asked my employer (global company) if I can move across to the US from UK on a L1A visa. I meet the requirements and they are currently looking into it.

I work remotely in the UK and if I go to the US I will be working remotely / from my apartment too.

The job won't change - role and responsbilties will all stay the same including the org structure, just that i would be based in US instead of UK and work slightly different hours due to timezone differences. I manage a global team with 50% of them based in the US (different state from where I would move to) who all work remotely too.

I want to move to the US on a L1A to gain life experience of living in the US (something I have wanted to do for years), and is not a requirement for the employer to have me in the US, though they are happy for me to gain that life experience.

To get the L1A visa, must there been a valid work reason to be accepted and does it make any difference if my job can be done by an American?

Thanks!

S Folinsky

as a retired immigration lawyer, I find the question to be intriguing.

Pulaski

Lots of jobs can technically be performed remotely these days from anywhere on the planet, and IMO most jobs held by L1A/B visa holders could be done by an American. However for one or more of several "fuzzy" reasons the employer prefers to bring in "their own man", perhaps for experience and career development, or to bring the HO culture to their US branch, to bring specialist knowledge to the US HO, etc., but none of those would definitively prevent an American from doing the job adequately.

I encourage you to draw your own conclusions.

The only stumbling block I see is not having a physical US office. IIRC you cannot "establish a US branch/ sub" for the purpose of bringing in L1A/B staff without a physical office/ factory.

porkedpie

I'm sure your company will engage a legal firm to complete your application anyway, so they would be best placed to advise.
However, from a lay-person's reading of the information, there are no criteria specifically that there is a need for the work to take place in the US.
I imagine many such executives managing teams in multiple countries would have L-1A visas.Since half your team is in the US I can't see why it would be an issue.


https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the...ive-or-manager


Edit: is there any requirement that the job couldn't be done by an American? I don't think so for L-1A visas.

SanDiegogirl

Isn't one of the main criteria for transferring an employee to the US that there is a physical US office/location which is a fully owned offshoot of the UK company conducting business in the US?

The L-1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.

It's the US office that does the transferring not the UK office.

The OP will be working from home. How does he intend to get paid? Still in the UK? I don't think the L-1A covers a remoter worker.

tht

Unless that team are all remote or 1099 contractors is seems like there is a US entity somewhere as the employer for US based team…

karenkaren1

there needs to be a US parent/subsidiary company linked to the UK company. In our experience, we had to "create" a US subsidiary, have physical office, employ Americans and have some very in depth business plans and forecasts. It was very complex and expensive and a stressful few years to say the least. But....we wanted to be in the USA and bring our kids up here so we had to do what we had to do....

bdjm

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Just to add, there is a US head office ( both UK and US offices are part of the same company / group) however i would be living in a different state from it.

The rest of my team do sometimes go to the office as live in the same state as it and I would travel to it on the odd occasion (every few months) too.

christmasoompa

I can't see an issue from a visa point of view then, only some possible practical issues. Would your employer be happy to pay the large cost involved in transferring you if you can just work remotely? And where is the head office and where do you want to live? If you wanted to live somewhere super expensive (NYC, Boston, LA, etc) then would the salary suffice if they'll only pay you the going rate for wherever the head office is, and it's somewhere much cheaper?

SanDiegogirl

Having an office in the US fulfills one of the main requisites for the L1A.
However, as said, the company has to pay for the transfer - visa fees and lawyer fees - and has to justify the move on the application.
From what the OP says, there is no need for him to be in the US - he just wants to go.

porkedpie

There's nothing on I-129[S] asking about why the employee must be based in the US.
The US is a legitimate location if half of their team is based there.

SanDiegogirl

My point being the US company might not want to go to the effort and expense of moving him over when there is, actually, no need.

bdjm

Hello, the company has no issues with covering the costs to move me over to the US.

SanDiegogirl

Looks like its AOK then. .....