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Hello,
I can't seem to find an answer to the question of whether I need a visa.
Here is the situation:
I live in the UK, have residence, am married have kids that live and go to school, and work in the UK.
I work for a multinational company
the company has an office in the states, and I need to do some work at that office.
So I live in the UK, work in the UK, get paid in the UK.
and I need to go to an office in the states, stay in a hotel and install some new IT equipment in an office in the states.
I won't get paid in the states.
I'll get paid the same as normal in my pay cheque...
I work in a technical role, (not managerial).
I'm not sure any visa fits.
the I don't need a "H" visa since I won't be working "for" a US company.
I don't think that the "L" visa fits, I'm not transferring, I'm just going to the states for a couple of weeks.
I think that the "B1" visa fits because I'll be doing "productive" work. - not just attending meetings.
and the "B2" doesn't fit as I'm not a tourist.
the london embassy page that seems to offer advice is quite badly laid out.
I think i might be ok under the visa waiver program to go to the USA for less that 90 days for business and work.
(but that bullet point comes after a break in the "citizens of these countries have a visa waiver" part and after a bit that says some people can't come...
there is part in the B1 visa (which says that the visa waiver roughly follows the same rules) that if I'm a service engineer, I could come to install or train staff on equipment purchased in the UK.... but as it is I'm not doing that, all the equipment will be purchased in the US, I've simply got to arrive put it in place and join it to our companies rest of the world... then go home.
(feasibly yes, there are people in the states qualified to do this work, but they don't work for us...)
so to save me getting sent home without doing the work...
Do I need a visa? or can I just go on the waiver?
I can't seem to find an answer to the question of whether I need a visa.
Here is the situation:
I live in the UK, have residence, am married have kids that live and go to school, and work in the UK.
I work for a multinational company
the company has an office in the states, and I need to do some work at that office.
So I live in the UK, work in the UK, get paid in the UK.
and I need to go to an office in the states, stay in a hotel and install some new IT equipment in an office in the states.
I won't get paid in the states.
I'll get paid the same as normal in my pay cheque...
I work in a technical role, (not managerial).
I'm not sure any visa fits.
the I don't need a "H" visa since I won't be working "for" a US company.
I don't think that the "L" visa fits, I'm not transferring, I'm just going to the states for a couple of weeks.
I think that the "B1" visa fits because I'll be doing "productive" work. - not just attending meetings.
and the "B2" doesn't fit as I'm not a tourist.
the london embassy page that seems to offer advice is quite badly laid out.
I think i might be ok under the visa waiver program to go to the USA for less that 90 days for business and work.
(but that bullet point comes after a break in the "citizens of these countries have a visa waiver" part and after a bit that says some people can't come...
there is part in the B1 visa (which says that the visa waiver roughly follows the same rules) that if I'm a service engineer, I could come to install or train staff on equipment purchased in the UK.... but as it is I'm not doing that, all the equipment will be purchased in the US, I've simply got to arrive put it in place and join it to our companies rest of the world... then go home.
(feasibly yes, there are people in the states qualified to do this work, but they don't work for us...)
so to save me getting sent home without doing the work...
Do I need a visa? or can I just go on the waiver?
