Jmaster911

Hi,

My wife (USC) and I are currently going through the visa process by means of DCF in London.

Lastnight, I had a telephone interview for a possible role in Texas for an international company. Everything seems to of gone well, however, the 5 months I will be waiting for my visa I suspect will be a problem. As the company is international, is there a way the business could employ me in the UK and then I travel to the US and work there (on a UK salary) for a couple of months while I am waiting form my visa.

If this is possible what visa would they have to apply for and how quick could it be done? I remember from a past company I worked for, they did exactly this and seemed to do it very quickly. I will only need this visa for the time I am waiting for the spousal visa to be approved (3-4 months).

Does anybody have any ideas what options could be open to me other than waiting for the DCF to come through.

Thanks

Bob

No, not legally.

There is a company transfer visa, L1, but you have to have been working at least a year.

Might want to check out the visa section of the site for further info though.

Ray

Sound like you would need an H1B ..they can apply for you next April ..
Your current method is the fastest ...

Jmaster911

Thanks for the help - fingers crossed they are willing to wait. I had another interview tonight and it went really well so I'm hopeful they may well wait.

My wifes I-130 was filled today so we are looking at around 4 months according to the embassy website (2 months to approve the I-130 and then a couple of months for the rest of the stuff). By the time they interview me in person, it will probably be towards the end of Sept which will burn another month from that and three months (ish) always sound better that four.

Ray

And it will save them a lot of money in legal fees ..

NC Penguin

You're going through the fastest route to getting Permanent Residence (aka a Green Card). In the meantime, make sure you all the necessary paperwork to assist in a smooth process.

I did DCF through the US Embassy in the UK in 2001 when there were more people eligible and that took 3.5 months.

Dan725

I wouldn't worry yet - you've only had a phone interview. The way (big) companies work over here, chances are you'll get your spousal visa approved before you get a final and definate job offer....

dbj1000

You'll also be long dead and hell will have frozen over before you hear back from them if they're not going to offer you the job!

Dan725

Definately - its one of the most annoying things in the world. The recruiting here is so short sighted - they really know how to piss off people who they might have hired for future positions.

Jmaster911

Well its moved on a bit from when I posted last.

1) I have had FIVE phone interviews and have got through them OK.

2) They are now flying me out to the US in the next few weeks for the face to face interview.

This is great and at the moment I am fairly confident I could wrap this up when I get there, however, I am confused and worried about something.

In my first post I asked if there was any way of me getting into the US and work while my DCF spousal application is being processed. I kind of knew what the answer would be and came to terms with the fact that they would have to wait until December/early Jan.

The company however have been doing their own research and have now come back to me and said that their "Corporate Lawyers" have said that I could be employed by a UK sister company and then legally travel to the US to work (in what capacity I have no idea). I am very unsure about this and will ask for exact details when I travel over for the interview.

At the end of the day I don't care how it is done but I don't want to jepodise my spousal application. The last thing I want is to attend the DCF interview in London and be questioned why I was spending so much time in the US. I also don't want to be told one thing by a lawyer, travel to the US to work and then be sent home cause I said the wrong thing at immigration. If I'm sent home that could endanger the visa application.

Can anybody figure out what this lawyer is on about?

Jerseygirl

Why don't you repost in the Immigration section?

Dan725

To have a guess, and it is only a guess mind, I'd say that if you were employed and paid by a UK company, and still technically resident in the UK (which you would be) there is nothing to stop you coming over for a short duration of 90 days or less on a Visa Waiver, as you won't technically be working for the US company - as it then becomes just like a longish business trip - people fly back and forth across the Atlantic every day for business on the Visa waiver program. So long as you leave within the 90 days, you'll be fine. Don't see why it shoud have a bearing at all on your spousal visa process.

Bob

Yeah, but this will go beyond just a business trip and actual work, which would be against the vwp...and the company won't really care as it ain't their arse on the line.

Dan725

Yes but hopefully once it does, he'll have his immigrant Visa which he's going through the process for. So he technically works for the UK based sister company and visits the US in a consulting capacity for the US company; once his immigrant visa comes through, he just signs up with direct them in the US. Job done.

Jmaster911

This is exactly what they are suggesting. Could I even go over in a training capacity. I work in the Mail industry so I would have to retrain on the differances between the UK and US mail system?