Orangepants

Hi,

I have been offered a job with Wachovia Investment Bank and because we missed the H1B deadline, they decided to base me in the London office for one year and then transfer me on an L1. My year will be up in February 08 and they have lawyers ready to submit paperwork etc in January.
As I have a house in Charlotte and boyfriend etc. my arrangement with Wachy enabled me to spend every other month in Charlotte, which will mean that of the year spent working for the Overseas subsidiary, I will have spent 6months of it physically in the States, mainly working from home.
I recently heard that this may harm my chance of getting as the L1 as I have spent so much time here. Is this the case?
Also, I have read other posts regarding L1A to GC and how quick it is, I believe I would be applying for a L1B as a specialized know. worker, I am not a manager. Is it as straight forward for a L1B to GC?
Many thanks for your help

MsElui

i was under the impression that whilst on VWP you CANNOT work. so it sounds like you have been breaking the rules by working from home in the states. I would be very careful what you tell them regarding this.

Orangepants

Thanks for your reply. I have a B1/2 visa and am paid from the UK and work remotely, logging into my system in the London office so the work isn't really the issue, as I always say that I am entering the country for business reasons especially with Wachy being Hq'd in Charlotte. It's the time spent in the US that concerns me. Thanks.

MsElui

its not an issue if you lie. Otherwise however you tell it - you were working whilst in the US on a tourist visa. thats breaking the terms of the visa and if they find out could cause you a problem.

Bob

It doesn't matter that it's remote working, it's the doing it physically in the US that is.

But the company ought to have a lawyer explain things to you....but one advantage is that the L1 is a duel intent visa, so having a US girlfriend shouldn't harm your chances.

Orangepants

Thanks Bob. It was under US Immigration recommendation to our lawyer that I obtain a B1 Business visa to enter the states on behalf of Wachovia London as an International consultant. I am in the country working legally.
Unfortunately my boyfriend is British on a H1B.
I have just read that any periods in the States, whether on behalf of my company or for pleasure will not be counted to my overseas year. Our lawyer suggested that they may not take note of this fact that I had spent extended periods of time here but having just seen it in the US Dept of State Foreign Affairs manual then I think I have been misinformed by our lawyers. That has just about ruined my day! Is it to early for a white wine?

meauxna

There are 2 classes of B visa; one for 'tourism' and one for 'business'.

fatbrit

You certainly won't be the first. Seems a not uncommon scenario among L1 people working in mega multinationals who have been assured that "the lawyer is taking care of it." My advice is always to be interested in your own case and actively follow its path, understanding the moves being played and questioning everything. Not to do so can result in grief for you.

snowbunny

Many large corporations do send their employees to the US for a three month stint here on the VWP. I was somewhat surprised to find out that this is common practise but apparently it is.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/wi...hout_1990.html

clearly states that the VWP is "for business" but goes on to state that foreign media correspondents who engage in their vocation here don't qualify and have to get a visa (wow, that smacks of censorship!). Apparently if you have questions about whether a particular visit can be classed as "business" you are supposed to enquire.

lj2

Just to add a different slant (which may raise further comments from others I'm not sure) I have my L1 interview Monday and when running through the thing I needed to take on their extortionate phone line the lady said I would need to prove ties to my home country.

I would have found this difficult had it not been that my position is a secondment for 2 years but it sounds like yours may be a permanent transfer so it may be even more tricky... Having said that, I am not sure why you would need to show ties for a dual intent visa - this is just what the lady said!

In answer to your second question, yes the L1b --> GC route is much more difficult than the L1a --> GC route apparantly although I have not looked into why in too much detail as I may never end up chasing GC anyway, and if I do it won't be for about 15 months.

Hope this helps in some way and I wish you luck.

Orangepants

Oh that does bring up another issue for me then. What constitutes ties to home country? I left the UK 15 years ago straight after university and have spent the majority of my time in the Cayman Islands, where I had hoped to get residency but due to a hurricane, the property was destroyed, amongst other things and hence chance of residency, entry to the States may have been easier from there.
My ties to the UK are remaining family members and a couple of bank accounts. Nothing more... Do I need to join some clubs or associations or volunteer?
Thanks for all your comments...

lj2

The lady on the phone suggested bank account statements and rental/mortgage agreements to me. I pointed out that I would be unlikely to rent a place in the UK whilst moving to the States for 2 years.... she said my job situation meant it would be fine.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The lady on the phone appears to be wrong in your case -- she stated the general rule for non-immigrant visas, one which does NOT apply to "L" visas.

The "non-immigrant intent" issue is often misunderstood. A "K" intends to come permanently and they have the requisite non-immigrant intent. You have to look at the actual definition of each category -- for example the "B" visitor and "F" student contain a "home abroad" requirement in the definition of the classification.

soon_to_Move

HI,

We had our L1B interview last friday and we were advised by our lawyer to take to the interview bank statements, proof of mortgage and proof of intruction to rent our house out. They didnt ask to see this stuff but nice to be prepared for it.

snowbunny

mmm.

Frankly you don't seem to have ties to the UK or anywhere else. The two biggest ties are job and home, and both of those are (correct if wrong) in the US.

Putting a different spin on it: if (in the rare event that) something went horribly wrong here and you were forced to leave, where would you go? To the UK? Where would you stay? Are you registered to vote?