hps

Hello,

I have a couple of questions pertaining to my situation as an L1-A visa
holder. I will have to go through a short summary of past events
though, to describe this situation. Please bear with me. Ok, here we
go:

June 2004: US company X filed L1-A petition in the US (job description:
Client Engagement Manager)
August 2004: Petition was approved
September 2004: US company X announced merger with US company Y
October 2004: Received visa from consulate (my wife received L2) but
due to merger announcment all budgets are frozen and I can't move to
the US (signed agreement still missing)
November 2004: Merger of company X and company Y legally binding ->
contract closure is final and formation of company Z is ongoing.

I have recently received a signed letter of employment (working
contract agreement) from company X (on letterhead of company X). Since
the petition also shows company X as petitioner, I originally thought
this to be good news. However, since company X does not really exist
anymore, I am not sure about the legal situation actually.

Furthermore, the job description for my job in the US will change.
It's not clear at this time but I will most likely not have the
position of the Client Engagement Manager but rather as a "normal" team
member. This wouldn't concern me that much but I intend to apply for a
greencard once I have actually moved to the US. I want to make use of
my L1-A status, of course. However, if my actual job does not reflect
the "A" status of being in a management position, I fear that I can't
do that.

I would appreciate comments about the fact that I have a visa but the
petioning company does not exist anymore and the fact that I will not
have the job that the petioninig company put into the petition.
Thank and regards,
Hans-Peter

Ivonne

Hi Hans-Peter,

I am not 100% sure, but I believe that they have to apply for a whole new L1-Approval under your new jobdescription. Since this will not be a managerial job anymore it is very possible that you will only get L1B status. I don't know the implications if you try to enter under your current visa since the original company X doesn't exist anymore but I would think thats illegal and can be considered visa fraud (not sure though).

Thats just my opinion, maybe someone who knows for sure can shed more light.

Ivonne

crg

If the person is entering using the L1-A visa and the job description has changed and no longer matches the petition then that would be illegal. He could be subject to expedited removal for fraud and/or applying for entry without the proper documents.

hps

Hi Yvonnne,

thanks for the information. I checked with our legal department.
Company X, which filed the petition last June, still exists. So that's
good.

I will have to talk to the HR people in the US about the job
description. I hope we will find a way to solve this. I really don't
want to go through the whole process again. This would take a couple
of months at best. I am tired of waiting.

Thanks again,
Hans-Peter