Am I eligibile to apply for L1A visa

[bsmer27]

I have an offer from an US based firm (say X) who also have office at India. Since H1 cap is full, Iam looking for L1 but have a small query

I used to work with X through TCS as they were business partner ie from May2008 until Dec2010, I was with this account both at offshore as well at onsite.In past I have travelled to their US location on L1A visa through TCS

Since Feb 2011 until now, am working in a different firm in India

Now that company X is offering me FTE position for their US office, I need to know if Iam eligible for L1 visa i.e. I join their india office and travel to US on L1. I went through L1A eligibility from US Department of State website and it states that

L Intracompany Transferees who, within the three preceding years, have been employed abroad continuously for one year, and who will be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of that same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity

I have 2 questions:

a. I was at TCS offshore for entire 2009 and went to company X onsite location on Mar2010 (till Dec2010). Will this count my 1 yr as working abroad from US Govt standpoint?

b. Company X was TCS business partner (and still is).So does it mean it is "affiliate"

Thanks,

[raghvi]

"Abroad" in this context means Outside US. How long were you working on Company X payroll outside US and from when to when? You should be on X's payroll for at least 1 year in past 3 years, outside US. This is my opinion, do seek expert guidance too.

[rvisak]

you are not eligible since you never were on X's payrolls. X is a client of TCS not an affiliate company.

unless you work on X's payrolls abroad for a year as a FTE; you wont be eligible for L1 through X