Converting an L2B to an H1B / Possibly trying for L1B straight to GC?

[kayjustkay]

Wife: L1B
Myself: L2B with EAD

Currently my wife and I are here on L1B(Her)/L2B(me). We are approaching the three year mark and her company have approached her about changing her visa status. They first tried to transfer her to an L1A under the stated intent of fast tracking our Green Card. I just found out this was rejected. They have now said they want to transfer her to H1B in order to extend her stay beyond the standard 5 years for L1B in order to give them time to sort out a Green card. Obviously this would mean my L2B visa transferring to an H4 visa and being unable to work.

I currently hold an IT job and my employers initially offered to put me forward for an H1B. However due to not completing college I do not have a valid degree and there lawyers have put a stop on this.

1. Does anyone have experience of their spouse on an L2B applying for an H1B without a formal degree? I have been here for almost two years and perform some pretty core functions to the business. Would this be taken into account?

2. If we were to stay on our L1B/L2B visas and apply for a GC what would happen if our L1's ran out whilst we were still in proccessing/adjustment of status? Would we BOTH be allowed to continue to work?

Any questions I am happy to expand on and any suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

[raghvi]

Wife: L1B
Myself: L2B with EAD

Currently my wife and I are here on L1B(Her)/L2B(me). We are approaching the three year mark and her company have approached her about changing her visa status. They first tried to transfer her to an L1A under the stated intent of fast tracking our Green Card. I just found out this was rejected. They have now said they want to transfer her to H1B in order to extend her stay beyond the standard 5 years for L1B in order to give them time to sort out a Green card. Obviously this would mean my L2B visa transferring to an H4 visa and being unable to work.

I currently hold an IT job and my employers initially offered to put me forward for an H1B. However due to not completing college I do not have a valid degree and there lawyers have put a stop on this.

1. Does anyone have experience of their spouse on an L2B applying for an H1B without a formal degree? I have been here for almost two years and perform some pretty core functions to the business. Would this be taken into account?

2. If we were to stay on our L1B/L2B visas and apply for a GC what would happen if our L1's ran out whilst we were still in proccessing/adjustment of status? Would we BOTH be allowed to continue to work?

Any questions I am happy to expand on and any suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks in advance.

Seems either the employer/lawyer didnt provide enough evidence of your spouse L1A eligibility OR your spouse doesnt qualify for L1A. That needs to be assessed by your spouse's employer. If indeed she doesnt qualify for L1A then the only option for her to stay beyond 5 Years is processing H1B. When is your spouse's I-94 as well as your I94 expiring?

1. You would need to provide educational evaluation to support your claim, without a degree in your hand it wouldn't be possible for that to happen and so it would be difficult to process your H1.

If your position qualifies as do not have at least a bachelor’s degree in a field related to your position, then you may qualify by:

Holding an unrestricted state license, registration or certification which authorizes you to fully practice the specialty occupation and be immediately engaged in that specialty in the state of intended employment; or
Having education, specialized training, and/or progressively responsible experience that is equivalent to the completion of a U.S. bachelor’s or higher degree in the specialty occupation, and having recognition of expertise in the specialty. through progressively responsible positions directly related to the specialty. In general, 3 years of work experience or training in the field is considered as equivalent to 1 year of college.
Note: Submit equivalency documents for all foreign degrees. If work experience is taken into account, please submit an equivalency evaluation from a college official. If the equivalency evaluation is not from the registrar, submit a statement from the school’s registrar to establish that the particular evaluating official is authorized to grant college-level credit on behalf of his or her institution.

2. I am assuming the max the employer may be able to do is file the GC for your spouse under EB2 category, which can take anywhere from 8-12 Years seeing the current wait times. And as L1 can at max allow one to stay for 5 Years, its obvious one needs to move to H1B in order to continue to legally stay and work here while the GC process is going on. When your spouse moves to H1 you have to move to H4 or your own H1. On H4 you cannot work and its going to be difficult to get H1 for you without necessary education completion as the requirement otherwise, as indicated above, can be difficult to fulfill.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[kayjustkay]

Hi Raghvi,

Thanks for the opinion, it seems to be a well informed confirmation of what I suspected in the first place.

On our last entry our stamps/i95s are for 12/6/2016

I suspect as it stands we will be doing the following

1. Leaving the US as soon as we can arrange jobs back in the UK (Boooo!)

2. Approaching her company to see if they believe that applying again for the L1A next year will be a possibility and if so, will they fast track us to GC as soon as possible to avoid the remain 4 years running out on our L1A and having to leave/stop working.

I suspect as my wife only moved to her AVP position recently she may not have completed the full year required to justify L1A.

[raghvi]

Well technically you can continue to stay till 12/6/2016 OR till 5 Years L1B stay completion (whichever is earlier), even if your visas are expiring/already expired as you two have valid I-94s. Of course, if your visas are expired, if you leave US, you cannot re enter. Not 12/6/2016 is still a good two years away to give you enough time to plan out your next move.

If her employer isnt able to convert her to L1A and file GC under EB1 category by the time your spouse completes 5 Year Stay , then yes, you would have to move to H1/H4 combination in order to continue stay in US.

But, with H1 visas going into lottery every year, and with the congress not increasing the quota, one shouldn't wait till last moment to decide so.

It would still be advisable to get your spouse's employer to file H1. In case you do decide to go this route, do file h1 as consular process not as COS, because if you do a COS, she would automatically move to H1 and you would have to move to H4.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[Abhishek Wadhawan]

AbhishekW_L2-EAD to L1-A CONVERSION

AbhishekW_L2-EAD to L1-A CONVERSION

Hi,
Please support !!

I am currently in India ( working for an MNC ) and got a transfer to US in same organisation on L2-EAD. My L2 visa, I-94 and EAD are valid till 1-Jun 2017. My spouse ( wife ) is already in US on L1B.

My new project is planning to transfer me to L1A.

It is 11 months for me in current project. I have been working for the same employer from Nov'2014 to till date in India and from Oct'2015 onwards in US

My queries:

(1) What is the process for C.O.S. ( change of status )...Will it impact my transfer in any case...

(2) If L1 is the way to go: should I go for an L1A or L1B? I am in the middle management of a huge conglomerate and don’t report directly to the board or management committee?

(3) If I request for a change of status from L2 to L1 in Dec'2015 and I go out of status after filing but before approval, can I still lawfully stay and work in US till there is decision on my application?

Please help

Cheers !!
Abhishek W

[Abhishek Wadhawan]

AbhishekW_L2-EAD to L1-A CONVERSION

AbhishekW_L2-EAD to L1-A CONVERSION

Hi,
Please support !!

I am currently in India ( working for an MNC ) and got a transfer to US in same organisation on L2-EAD. My L2 visa, I-94 and EAD are valid till 1-Jun 2017. My spouse ( wife ) is already in US on L1B.

My new project is planning to transfer me to L1A.

It is 11 months for me in current project. I have been working for the same employer from Nov'2014 to till date in India and from Oct'2015 onwards in US

My queries:

(1) What is the process for C.O.S. ( change of status )...Will it impact my transfer in any case...

(2) If L1 is the way to go: should I go for an L1A or L1B? I am in the middle management of a huge conglomerate and don’t report directly to the board or management committee?

(3) If I request for a change of status from L2 to L1 in Dec'2015 and I go out of status after filing but before approval, can I still lawfully stay and work in US till there is decision on my application?

Please help

Cheers !!
Abhishek W