Zez

More sagas.....my husband is being offered a job with a UK parent company which has a US subsidiary in silicon valley. They would like him to be posted to the US for the 1st 2-3 years in order for him to understand the US operations and how this interacts with the UK. He would then return to the UK. From looking at the various visa options, there doesn't seem to be anything that would cover this situation. I thought the L1B would apply as he is an experienced finance person, but that seems to only apply if you have been employed by that company for 1 year prior to the posting.

Any experience of this and how to sort this?

HarryTheSpider

You are right - you do need 1 year min with the UK operation before an L1 would be available. I assume he currently is not working for the company in question.

I came over on an L1 just over 2 years ago.

How about he works for them in the UK the first year, and travels each mo th or so to the US operation and is there for a few weeks at a time... He will need to develop specialist knowedge anyway, knowledge a US citizen doesn't have because under the L1 you have to show you are not taking a job away from an American. Doing it this way gives your hubby a much better chance of building up this knowledge. It also gives him a chance to figure out where to live in Silicon Valley - it's not cheap - and also identify other things to have put in the contract for when he does move over. There are many little things to have the employer take care of that if you dont, will just sour things. But there's time to deal with that later...

DavidLemon

L1 is only valid if he has worked for the company for atleast one year outside of the US in the last three years, so you are correct that is not an option.

knowing nothing of the position or the skills of the hubby, one would ask about the H1 option. Both the position and the intended employee would need to qualify.

The good thing is that if it is the company that wants him they will or should know what visa they will be applying for, as it is legally their responsibility to apply and pay for the process.

Tell him to talk to the company in question to get more details. L1 is out for sure, but a H1 may not be.

Zez

He has asked them to clarify. Working in uk for a year then transferring to us for 2 then back isn't really an option for our family... Complicated! It'd be going in the autumn or not accept the job! Anyone know if uk parented companies with subsidiaries in the us can apply for h1b?

captainsensible

If the US subsidiary is owned by the UK parent company, then they could apply for E2 Treaty Investor status, and he could be given an E2 Treaty Investor employee visa - this doesn't have the requirement to have worked for the company for 1 year previously, although it can be a long winded and expensive process for the company.

Noorah101

I see two potential problems with this idea:

1. Spending a few weeks in the USA each month (or so) is building up a LOT of time in the USA. Even if he's doing some kind of business activity that's allowed on a B-1 visa, I think he'll eventually get stopped at the POE for entering the USA too much. If he's in the USA for a few weeks per month, that makes about 40 weeks a year in the USA, and only 12 weeks back in the UK. He'd also be liable to file a tax return in the USA for spending more than 180 days there per calendar year.

2. I'm not sure about this one...but if he spends that much time working for the company inside the USA, does that still count towards his 1 year requirement for working in the UK first, before making the L visa transfer?

Rene