DavidLemon

HI All

Im currently going through the process of trying to move to the US as a transfer in my company.

My company have two established offices one in Boston the other in London, and having worked in the UK division for nearly a year and a half i have asked to transfer to the US side as my skill set is needed there far more than it is in the UK. My company is a software house. Im a techie within that supports both the unique product we create and sell to our customers (mostly large US corporate companies), the development side is in the UK whilst the sales force is in the US.

My directors have agreed that it would be in the interests of both parties that i be based in the US and have instructed the US attorney to start the proceedings YAY

However - when we started the discussions, i wanted to approach this at an L1 level as a transfer within the business. The US attorney has stated that this process will be harder than going the H1 route? I do not understand why this should be the case, as im only wanting to go from one office to another.

My company have said they would pay for the transfer fees and sponsor me, so they have started the H1. Next they are asking me to provide details of Degrees and Diplomas. I have non, however have been employed for qaround 15 years in my field, having worked for around four or five companies. So now they are asking me to get letters of confirmation from these companies.

My question is if i went for the L1 would i have to also do all of this work? It seems a bit much when im just wanting to base myself out of the US office.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. I would like if possible to instruct the attorney to go the L1 route as i feel that this is the visa that suits my requirements best, but not sure what it is that makes them say it will be harder to obtain.

Look Forward to hearing from you all.

Regards

David

RPTNOTTM

Hi

as i understand it, the H1 route has numerical limits on the amount they issue in a year, and if you are late in applying....hard cheese!, however, a work petition for an L1 is much quicker and easier route to get to the USA, the only thing is that you have to had worked for the company for over 1 year continously in the last three.

I myself am actually going through the L1 process at the moment...and I am in the process of additional processing due to a criminal past (20 years ago), so provided you have been a good boy, the L1 is the best route for you, L1a is for Execs and Managers, and then L1B for non managerial staff

Good luck!

Brat1

Hi David

Welcome to BE where you will find most if not all the answers you're looking for. I have no clue about the L visa's so can't help you there. My husband came out on an H1-B and as you have said, we had to provide letters from previous employers etc as you have to have 12 years experience in your field if you don't have a degree, and have to prove that this has been a progression ie you have gained experience and knowledge through practical work experience. It was a pain to do it and once you have collated all that, the Attorney sends it to some governing body somewhere, and they decide whether what you submit is equivalent to a degree.

The only other thing I would say about the H visa, is if you have a wife, and she is coming with you, she would be coming on an H4 which would not allow her to work, which is not a great idea, as I, having been here 8 months, realise how much I actually miss working (did I actually say that )!!!! I understand if you were on L visa's, she would apply or get some sort of thing that would allow her to work if she can find a job, but someone with more knowledge of the L visa could enlighten you on that. Good luck, and just make sure you research both visas so that you know what you're talking about if you're going to argue the case with your employer. There are plenty of previous posts on stuff like this if you use the search function at the top.

Let us know how it goes and if you need any more help

DavidLemon

Im trying to engage in conversations with the company lawyers as im not sure why they are wanting to go the long ardous route, but i have to bow to their knowledge i suppose.

I just dont want to be denied a visa based on the grounds that the petition is for the wrong one for me. Although i appreciate i have over 12 years of computer nerd experience, it is going to be quite hard to get all the companies to say much other than confirm I worked for them.

Im sure an L1-B is the way forward, quicker and cheaper but for some reason they say opposite. I will update you as things progress.

Does anyone know what the procedure is for an L1? RPTNOTTM other than the extra steps, what were the standard steps you had to take?

Octang Frye

If you want permanent residency, I'd go for the L1. It's usually a lot quicker to get a green card through that route, than an H1b.

ian-mstm

They may simply not be as familiar with the L-1 visa as they are with the H-1. Think of this as an opportunity to educate them.

Ian

heantune

I would think that would only be true for L1A if qualifying for EB1 or 2. L1B is likely to be in the EB3 queue.

H

Flabound oneday

in a very basic nutshell, the Uk company has to show why it is transferring you to US company. our L1a took a few months to preparer and was approved in 4 days (prem processing). as stated your wife can work on an L2 and you can move to permanent residency

scrubbedexpat099

Ask the Lawyer, L seems much more obvious.

DavidLemon

I agree that they have to justify why um going htere and the case is simple. Im the person that puts the product togeather and supports it for our customers. The business has decided that the US market is where they are going to soley concentrate on and therefore it wants to have my skillset runing from the American office as the UK side closes down when Boston still has five working hours left, leaving the company with little to no support.

I have just spoken to the attorney assistant, and he has said that if i were to go for the L1 it would be alot harder as they are far more stringent on that application. But i still fail to see how.

Noorah101

Maybe they aren't looking at an L visa because the UK facility will ultimately be shutting down? Or did I misunderstand this post?

Rene

ian-mstm

Boy oh boy... are they ever giving you the run around. Note - the assistant isn't an attorney... and an L-1A/B is usually less trouble than an H-1B. You need to find out why they're throwing all this crap at you... and then ask yourself whether or not you want to continue working for a company that treats their employees this way!

Ian

scrubbedexpat099

He is talking about time difference.

But L seems so much simpler?

Noorah101

I wondered. Thanks for the clarification. From everything I've read on this forum, L is a lot simpler than H.

Rene

Giantaxe

An L1 is definitely the way to go for all the reasons previously stated. The only reason I can think that they want to go the H1 route is that they are concerned that they will have issues proving that there is a legal connection between the UK and US companies. If I was the OP I would be asking the lawyer very specific questions as to why they want to go the H1 route. Just saying, "it's harder" to go the L1 route is lame.