L1A to GC
 

Hi Guys,

A quick question.

As some of you on here may know I moved to CT from the UK last year under an L1A. My employer's policy is that after two years in the US on an L1 visa, a green card application will be funded by them.

I am a year out from this I am now wondering about how my L1A status will marry up with the EB-1C petition.

My L1A visa in my passport is valid until 9th May 2024 and my I-129S is valid until 12th May 2022. My wife and kids are on L2s with the same dates and my wife has an EAD until 12th May 2022.

My concern is the running order of things. Once my employer submits the EB-1C petition it could take a year or longer for that to be returned. During this period, assuming they apply on my very two year anniversary (not likely knowing the pace the lawyers move at) there is a strong chance I will need to renew my L1A before the EB-1C petition comes back.

I have heard through colleagues that have made the same move that they renewed their L1A early to avoid this situation and others just dropped onto an EAD but I can't get clarification on it from the non-responsive lawyers.

Does anyone know how this works?

Cheers,
Mr BBQ

Re: L1A to GC
 

The two processes are independent and not linked.

Assuming that you're a British Citizen and that ROW is current, the attorney should be able to concurrently file your I-140/I-485.

You will be eligible to have the extension submitted once you're within 60 days of your I-94 expiry, however so long as the paperwork is receipted before the I-94 expires then your work authorization will continue through a 240 day grace period. In other words you will still be able to work during this period even if USCIS haven't approved the extension yet.

Re: L1A to GC
 

Thanks! That's great info.

Qq - what is ROW?

Re: L1A to GC
 

My path here was also L1a followed by EB1c and now USC. If you get that far make sure to keep in mind that German Citizen needs permission from Germany to become a USC and not loose their German Citizenship.

ROW = rest of world aka not China, India, Mexico, Philippines

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/gre...isas-june-2020

Re: L1A to GC
 

You can file for I-485 the same time as I-140 (lucky you, it was a nightmare throughout 2018/19 due to retrogression and many were scrambling)

So you should be fine because you should be able to get EAD once the I-1485 get lodged