L1 or H1: pls suggest

[us1212]

Hi

Both me and my wife are working for a US based MNC in mid level management.We have discussed with our organization the prospect of moving us to US for better business results and they have agreed.I would request some advise on which visa category we should apply in.

Our objective is to finally settle in US.

Please share your thoughts, thanks in advance.

[raghvi]

Hi

Both me and my wife are working for a US based MNC in mid level management.We have discussed with our organization the prospect of moving us to US for better business results and they have agreed.I would request some advise on which visa category we should apply in.

Our objective is to finally settle in US.

Please share your thoughts, thanks in advance.

You would have to be more specific than this. The subject you are asking about can fill books and still leave some things unanswered as each case, employer, employee is different.

Broadly speaking most of the folks have three options:

1. Check whether you/your spouse meet L1/L2 criteria. http://www.immihelp.com/l1-visa/

2. Cap subject H1 is already over for this year, the earliest one can apply for cap subject H1 is April 2015 with start date of Oct 2015. https://www.immihelp.com/usa-h1-visa/

3. If you are really high up in the chain or having extra ordinary skills you can directly try to apply for a EB1 GC which will allow you to stay longer and settle you in US on a more permanent basis.

In my opinion 10-20% go through first route. 70-80% go through the 2nd option. A very few qualify for the last option.

http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[us1212]

You would have to be more specific than this. The subject you are asking about can fill books and still leave some things unanswered as each case, employer, employee is different.

Broadly speaking most of the folks have three options:

1. Check whether you/your spouse meet L1/L2 criteria. http://www.immihelp.com/l1-visa/

2. Cap subject H1 is already over for this year, the earliest one can apply for cap subject H1 is April 2015 with start date of Oct 2015. https://www.immihelp.com/usa-h1-visa/

3. If you are really high up in the chain or having extra ordinary skills you can directly try to apply for a EB1 GC which will allow you to stay longer and settle you in US on a more permanent basis.

In my opinion 10-20% go through first route. 70-80% go through the 2nd option. A very few qualify for the last option.

http://www.immihelp.com/greencard/

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Hi Raghvi

Thanks for your response.

Since the H1 cap is already over for the year and I am not as high up to get EB1 GC directly, I guess our only option would be L1 visa (we both meet the criteria). Since both me and my spouse are working with the same organization(Large MNC , headquartered in NY) , we would both need to apply for L1 visa.

Thanks
AG

[raghvi]

L1 also has sub categories. L1A for senior management/executives. L1B for specialized skill sets.

If you are not eligible for EB1 GC it would be slightly difficult to prove eligibility for L1A.

For L1B eligibility, for each of you, each should have proficiency and experience in unique company proprietary product/process etc.

This is my opinion not legal advice.