L1 holder marrying an illegal alien

[Yuka 0]

Dear all, I have a following question.

If an L1 visa holder marrying a person who was married, but got divorced before getting a green card, will that person get an L2 visa, or will that person stay illegal?

Thank you very much in advance, this is pretty important.

[Otto 83]

will that person stay illegal?

Remains illegal.

[payxibka 10,045]

what do you mean by "illegal"....

FWIW, since an L-1 is neither a resident nor a citizen, thus there is no basis for the L-1 to "legalize" another otherwise "illegal" alien.

Edited August 3, 2009 by payxibka

[brlukath 1]

Your question is a bit vague, but ...

An L-1 visa is a temporary work visa. If an L1 visa holder gets married, his/her spouse can apply for a visa (normally a derivative L-2 visa) but there is no automatic grant of status:

"Spouses ... who wish to accompany or join the principal [L-1] visa holder in the United States for the duration of his/her stay require derivative L-2 visas. Spouses and/or children who do not intend to reside in the United States with the principal visa holder, but visit for vacations only, may be eligible to apply for visitor (B-2) visas, or if qualified, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program."

As a general rule you can only apply for a visa if you are OUTSIDE the US (since a visa is permission to enter the US), and being in the US illegally generally disqualifies you from getting most visas, unless you get a waiver (and leave the US).

Now, if a former L-1 holder gets a green card (through other means, as L-1s are non-immigrant visas), that person may get in line and apply to have his spouse's status regularized (whether or not in the US legally), of course taking advantage of any applicable waivers. (Note: No guarantee that the application will be successful.)

Hope this helps. Otherwise provide more details.

[Yuka 0]

Your question is a bit vague, but ...

An L-1 visa is a temporary work visa. If an L1 visa holder gets married, his/her spouse can apply for a visa (normally a derivative L-2 visa) but there is no automatic grant of status:

"Spouses ... who wish to accompany or join the principal [L-1] visa holder in the United States for the duration of his/her stay require derivative L-2 visas. Spouses and/or children who do not intend to reside in the United States with the principal visa holder, but visit for vacations only, may be eligible to apply for visitor (B-2) visas, or if qualified, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program."

As a general rule you can only apply for a visa if you are OUTSIDE the US (since a visa is permission to enter the US), and being in the US illegally generally disqualifies you from getting most visas, unless you get a waiver (and leave the US).

Now, if a former L-1 holder gets a green card (through other means, as L-1s are non-immigrant visas), that person may get in line and apply to have his spouse's status regularized (whether or not in the US legally), of course taking advantage of any applicable waivers. (Note: No guarantee that the application will be successful.)

Hope this helps. Otherwise provide more details.

Thank you very much, this is huge help!