DavidLemon

Ok so here is the update so far.

As predicted my H1-B is currently stalled pending the reciept of the letters of confirmation from my previous employers.

However here in lies the worst part. Back in 95 i worked for a company, i left them in 2001. This work history is paramount to my application as it makes up the 12 years required for the H1-B petition. However this company are not able to find records to reflect as such. They have senior managment that remember me, but can not clarify the dates. They are still digging through their archives, but things are now starting to look bleak.

Todate i have managed to get the assistance of all bar one of the companies to secure letters for 9 years 3 months of employment. Im just waiting upon their return.

If i am unable to get the final years, would the 9 years be suitable for me to instruct the company lawyers (via the directors as i have no authority) to process with the petition as an L1?

So in short is 9 years of experience in my field good enough to transfer from the UK office to the US office on an internal transfer L1 visa?

Your feedback would be awesome as im strating to worry that things are going awry and i so need to do my best to get this back on track.

scrubbedexpat099

One of the advantages of going the L route.

Why do not you ask the company lawyer what they think, seems a bit screwed up.

DavidLemon

I dont understand? I have been engaging with the lawyers and the attorneys assistant, as everytime i have a question that is where i have to go to ask. I have asked several times if the L1 route is more suitable than the H1 route, always to be told that the H1 is the way forward.

I agree it appears screwed up, but im trying to unscrew it as it were

I have asked the lawyers what they think, and as mentioned numerous times in this thread they are insisting that the H1-B route to transfer me from the UK to the US office is the best route. I have disputed this with them and the directors but they seemed to think that the L1-B route would cause me more issues as this visa is under heavy scrutiny.

I have asked the attorney appointed to start my petition on behalf of my company, but have been passed to his assistant who also stated that the H1-B route is the best route to take.

Im still of the opinion that the L1-B is the route for me and am trying to get the company to instruct them as such.

However as mentioned in my earlier message, I just wsh to know if references going back 9 years would be suitable in an L1 petition.

Picnic

Your employers seem to be making this very difficult for you. Unless you are happy with your wife not having the opportunity to work for the 6 (guesstimating here) or so years you can work in the US on an H1 visa, the move to the US would seem to be a bad decision.

Have you broached this with them? Are they willing to increase your salary by the amount your family will lose while your wife is unable to work?

DavidLemon

The process could most certainly be smoother so that is one thing. My wife is a fulltime house wife and is currently not working anyways. Well say she is not working is unfair, she has a fulltime job looking after me and our 7 month old little girl

The move to the US is a must as the office over there is in serious need of a Full time External customer support engineer that has the indepth knowledge of our product, and also an internal support engineer that has the knowledge of the systems there. I am the best candidate for the role and am totally looking forward to the move over when we can finally make it happen.

My company are totally behind me with said move and are happy to pay for the lawyer and the attorney fees, infact that have not batted an eyelid at this as it is most definatley in everyones best interests.

I suppose it is a case of who knows best, and right now the belief is that the attorney processing my petition does indeed know best. At the end of the day this is their job, they deal with this day in and day out.

My only concern is that i felt i qualified for the L1 visa. Im not looking to move out to the States to see work. Im transfering from one office ot another.

Until this is all sorted i will always be worried that somehow a spanner will be thrown in the works and ruin it, and the letters of confirmation that are required for the H1 process is most defianley a huge spanner right now.

Giantaxe

She may be a "full time housewife" right now, but who knows what she might want to do during the next few years? One of the problems non-working trailing spouses can have is isolation in a new country, and working is one way to address that.

A spanner that would have been avoided by going to L1 route!! Something is very awry, here and, as I mentioned before, the only thing I can think of is that there is some legal problem in the relationship between the UK and US companies that would preclude you qualifying for an L1. You really need to ask the lawyers this specifically. An L1 is a much better deal for you and your family and should be the way your employer is proceeding.

meauxna

What reasons do they give you that the H-1B is the 'way forward'? It sounds like you have discussed it a lot but you don't ever tell what their reasoning is.. maybe they have a good point with the H?

ian-mstm

What documentation have you provided to the company to demonstrate that the lawyers are idiots? If you want to be taken seriously, document how much easier and straightforward the L-1 visa is. If you are the "best candidate for the role" demonstrate to them how you can save them money!

Ian

pejpm1

I'm on an L1B, but I'm switching to H1B to give me an extra year..plus I think if they apply for a green card I can still remain in the country while its being processed (i'm not sure about that part, but I think so)...anyway, this is weird...I just got my approval notice....I dont have a degree, and I have 10 years experience in my field. apparently the lawyers did something where my experience was evaluated by someone as being equivalent to a degree..I'm shocked at how easy it was..all I did was give them my CV..I didnt even need proof that I've actually worked at any of my former companies. I was half expecting to get rejected.

DavidLemon

They say that the L1 is under heavy scrutiny. that the H1 is more available and a better fit for my immigration requirements. That is all they are saying. Here is a snippet of his last convo with me.


3. As we have previously communicated to you and Bill, we will be filing an H-1B petition on your behalf in lieu of an L-1B petition as the latter petitions are currently being subjected to greater scrutiny by the USCIS. Adjudicators have become increasingly more critical in approving cases that involve “specialized knowledge” positions, particularly in engineering and computer-related occupations. While we may be able to use the 9 years and 3 months of your employment experience in an L-1B petition, we would also need to show/prove before the USCIS that the position you currently hold in the UK and the position that you will occupy in the US are both “specialized knowledge” positions, which gives the adjudicator a higher level of discretion in examining the petition.

This is all i can tell you as to why they are going the H1 route.

DavidLemon

When did you go through this process?

ian-mstm

Well then, I don't know that there's anything more we can do for you. Unless management specifically directs them to alter their plan, this is what's going to happen... and discovering what others have done isn't really going to help you at all - and may serve to simply increase your frustration!

I believe the "heavy scrutiny" is bullsh*t. There are, per capita, as many L-1B approvals as H-1B approvals... it's just that there are more H-1Bs applied for, so it seems that not as many people are getting L-1B visas.

Ian

scrubbedexpat099

If it was your lawyer, I would say get a second opinion.

Sounds like it you have to suck it and see.

At least get a commitment to be sponsored for a GC asap.

pejpm1

recently. got the approval notice today.

Socal Local

I came to the US on an L1 visa around 5 years ago. My employer tried to transfer someone else from our UK office around a year ago to work on my team and we initially filed an L1-B for this person. The response was a huge RFE that would have taken a very long time to respond to and because of the subjective nature of the questions, the immigration attorney advised that it was difficult to be certain that we would get an approval even after responding. We therefore applied for an H1-B for this person instead and this was approved with no issue.

I have seen a few posts on here (including from an immigration attorney) referring to difficulties in getting L1s approved and 'RFEs from hell', so it seems like ours was not an isolated incident and this might explain why your attorney is recommending the H1-B.