chicagojlo

My husband and I have been here for a year on his L1B visa. I obviously have an L2. I have a job, a ssn, a drivers license that I studied for here in Chicago (never learned to drive in the UK!).
The problem is that in order to give us time to get our GCs, his company's immigration lawyer wants to change him over to a H1B so that we won't run out of time, since the L1B is only good for 5 years and current processing for GCs is 5 plus years. That means I will have to go to H4.
Now I know that means I won't be able to work, which honestly is already enough of a heartbreak, since I love my job. But I'm getting a little confused as to what it means with regard to my ssn, and in particular my drivers license.
Since I already have my ssn, they can't take it away from me can they? What about my drivers license since IL apparently requires an ssn to issue them.
Am I missing any other potential nightmares out here?
Thanks!

ian-mstm

There is no guarantee that an H-1B will be approved... there are hundreds of thousands of applicants for a limited number of visas. Last year, the entire quota was used up on the first day they became available. Can the L-1B not be renewed?


The H4 is a living hell. If there is *any* other route, I suggest you take it. You should exhaust *all* other options before this.


No. Your SSN is yours for life.


Your DL should be safe also. As long as your visa is valid you are in status, so renewing shouldn't be an issue.

Ian

chicagojlo

My visa will mean I am not entitled to have a SSN, will my DL still be valid if I'm not entitled to get it under H4 because I got it under L2?
My daughter will be starting school this fall. We'd planned for me to work less at that time anyway, so in theory it won't be so bad. If I can keep my ssn valid then it would sort out the issue of building credit etc.
The only other options are to either stay on L1B and hope that the GC comes through within the 3-4 year time frame we will have, or to get him promoted to manager which would mean he could get the L1A which has an extra 2 years on it. But that isn't likely to happen because of sucky internal politics.
So if we really want to get GCs we have to go for H1B, or take some pretty big risks. Which sucks!

dh010447

The transfer to L1A would have re4quired him to be a manager for the foreign branch before he came to the US, so unless he was - I dont think its possible to switch. If I am wrong though, please tell me because I am in the same boat as you guys.

Something else to think about though, in 5 years time - immigration will have probably changed and the backlog may be much less by then...

dh010447

Oh and as for your DL, I know in GA you can still get a DL if your not entitled to a SSN. You just get a letter from the SS people to say this. As you have your SSN already, I think you'll be fine. It says only valid for work with authorisation, but doesn't say anything about driving...

If your other halfs company is using a lawyer, they should be able to answer these questions for you.

ian-mstm

You already *have* a SSN. It is yours for life... I'm not sure why you don't understand that! The visa is irrelevant. You have a SSN. It is yours for life. Period. End of story.


I understand... but theory is just that... theory. The reality is quite different... and we hear many H4 horror stories in these forums - things you can't quite imagine at this point in time.

Ian

fatbrit

Your SSN doesn't expire but your right to work will. You may have problems with your local DMV if you need to renew/change your license since they don't understand immigration stuff very well anyway, and you will confuse the hell out of them. But if you are here legally, you should be able to have a license. If you have problems, be sickly sweet, ask for a supervisor and persevere until you get your license.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The SSN belongs to you and will not change. Once you get one, it is for life. No problem on what you ask.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

It is possible to switch.

dh010447

Thats good to know... I transfered on L1B and my company is starting the Greencard application in March next (actually, that would be THIS) year. As time progresses, I can see my job changing to more of a managerial position so in 4 1/2 years time if I need the extra time, switching to a L1A might be a good option, if its possible...

chicagojlo

Thanks for the answers guys.
I get that not being able to work is going to be a nightmare. I didn't work for the first few months when we came, which was OK but made a lot harder because it was the middle of winter which meant my daughter couldn't go outside too much and I couldn't drive so we were stuck in our apartment all day. It's just that I've always worked, and I'm good at what I do - just not qualified enough at it that anyone will give me a H1B of my own. But my plan was always to start a business of my own one day so I'm going to have some time to get my skills together I think!
The whole SSN thing just scares me because I remember how hard it was when we didn't have them at the start. I know that most state/govt department employees have a hard time thinking at the best of times, so having to deal with them in a situation this complicated is going to be interesting.
We do have a lawyer but she's not very communicative with us directly, she prefers to deal with the HR people.
I just wish we had known about this earlier, being told you only have a few months left of double income for the next 5-6 years is not really what we needed.

fatbrit

This is a common problem. You don't have a lawyer -- the company does. Maybe you should have a one-time consult with your lawyer to see what your best interest is. The company lawyer represents the company, not you.

chicagojlo

Nice idea but like I said we are about to lose our second income for the next 5 years so money is tight. We aren't about to start fighting the company on this because they will just send us back to where we came from, which believe me isn't an option for us. Crappy situation but we have to take what we are given and try to work with it.
At least with the H1B my husband will have more freedom to get a new job, even if it means abandoning the GC process temporarily.

jjmb

If your husband has any supervisory positions in abroad, you should look into changing your husband's L1b into an L1A. It doesn't have to have manger in the job title, just the ability to prove that your husband supervised other people in his old job position.

We were part of a group of engineers who moved over in 2000, all on L1Bs, all changed to L1As with no problems (as long as they had the right education qualifications)due to the fact they supervised other people but were not necessarily managers (a situation engineers oftten have).

ian-mstm

He *must* work for the company that sponsors him. If that's the same company he works for now, it's not a step forward. If he wants to change job, the other company has to take over sponsorship of the H-1B... and there's no guarantee that the other company will want to help him get a GC.

Ian