Working for a US owned UK Company

[themanman 0]

Hi,

I work for a company in the UK that is owned by a US company; we have the same name but they are considered two separate entities. I have been with my company for 4 years, full time, and have a BSc. An opportunity has come about for me to move to the US company on a permanent basis. What steps are required and how long would it take in order to obtain a visa?

I believe that my company would be in a position to sponsor me/petition for a visa. Should i be looking at apply for a temporary work visa with the idea to extend or to become permanent? Should i go straight for a permanent work permit?

Another option i have thought of is still being on the payroll of the UK company but working in the US office. Is this an avenue that i could go down?

I already have a B1/B2 visa that runs out in the middle of next year which i hope shows that i would not have too much hassle around background checks.

Any advice appreciated!

[kzielu 1,148]

Well, your company and their lawyer should and will be handling that. It's up to them what they're willing to petition you for - one that fits best here is L-1 visa for intracompany transferees but it's still temporary and does not provide permanent status. They can petition you for employment based green card while still in UK or when you are in US on L-1 - but again it's up to them. You do not do anything in this process.

[themanman 0]

Ok that's reassuring to know.

So they could either go for temporary or permanent. Is it less likely to receive permanent off the bat so therefore going down the route or temp-> perm is best? As you say i wont be the person doing this directly but i might have a say in the decision they come to. If i get temp would they then have to keep extending the visa themselves?

[kzielu 1,148]

Ok that's reassuring to know.

So they could either go for temporary or permanent. Is it less likely to receive permanent off the bat so therefore going down the route or temp-> perm is best? As you say i wont be the person doing this directly but i might have a say in the decision they come to. If i get temp would they then have to keep extending the visa themselves?

Read on L-1s - those have maximum time limit beyond which they can't be extended (it's either 7 or 5 years depending on which L-1 is it). If you get visa for less than max limit, yes - they will have to provide you with supporting docs to extend it. Also, on L-1 you're limited to work for this particular employer. Again - it's all up to the company - typical route is a work visa and then an employment based green card petition.

[themanman 0]

Thank you for all of this wonderful information. Any chance you know what the average wait time would be? I'm guessing it would be on the urgency from the company.

[lost_at_sea 995]

There's no such thing as a permanent work visa. Also, companies may be unwilling to do green card sponsorship, because it means you can stop working for them more easily. Just FYI.

[Harsh_77 718]

Thank you for all of this wonderful information. Any chance you know what the average wait time would be? I'm guessing it would be on the urgency from the company.

It would all matter on how fast your company is willing to apply for your visa and how quick are your company lawyers, what docs they present, if there is an rfe etc.

Something to add that might help:

The alien’s prior one year of the employment abroad must have been in managerial, executive or specialized knowledge capacity.

The prospective employment in the US must also be in managerial, executive or specialized knowledge capacity.

Edited October 3, 2013 by Harsh_77

[themanman 0]

My apologies, i didn't realize there wasn't a permanent work permit. So is green card synonymous with resident?

I would imagine that it would be quite quickly. My firm is quite large with some good layers so I hope that means it would be fast tracked slightly.

I am currently in a managerial position moving to a specialized role. Can experience through tenure with a company be categorized as specialized knowledge?

[kzielu 1,148]

Yes, it can. As for the timeline, my L-1B blanket was essentially done in ~1.5 months, but company paid for premium processing and was on the list that made it eligible for L-1 blanket petitions. You can look up processing times for I-129S at USCIS webpage. GC processing is much longer.

[Boiler 45,319]

Years ago my Brother had a L, not that he know much about it, all he did was go to the Consulate to get the Visa.

Lawyers did all the #######.

[themanman 0]

Thank you for the information. I talked to one of the companies that will process a visa for you (only to get some consultation) and they said that i should have a chance through the L1a/b visa as well. The HR department for the company I would be transferring to are looking into it now so its out of my hands. Its butterflies until i get the answer now!

[themanman 0]

So my company came back to me today and said that through their research they have found a 'snag' that would prevent me from obtaining a visa. I do not know what the snag is yet but basically this is the only thing preventing from me getting the job now.

Through the advice i have received here and from visa processing companies i believe that i can get one. So it is now up to me to try and prove this to them. Does anyone have an idea about how i can best do this?

The MD at my company in the UK has stated that they would be willing to keep me on the UK books if i were to use my business visa. I feel that this is shaky grounds, should i even propose this as a work around? If i did this would i be in a better position to get a visa eventually?

One of the visa processing companies i talked to suggested going in through Canada, is this feasible?

[kzielu 1,148]

I don't know what Canada has to do with it but sounds like a scam. As for bussiness visa - you're right - very shaky grounds. My company has internal policy for its foreign subsidiaries of no more than 8 weeks per year of visits on B-1 - to avoid potential accusation of bringing people here to work using business visa.

Now, other potential issues on working in US on business visa (other than it's flat out illegal) is - being UK citizen you have to apply for it and explain why you need it (rather than just use VWP), explain reason for your travel in both embassy and CBP at your port of entry and lastly your max period of stay can be 6 months but it's entirely up to CBP officer.

Snag your company found is likely costs of work visa they figured out they will have to incur. If they don't want to send you, you can't force them to do that. Also with behavior you're describing, I would seriously look at working somewhere else.

[Owen_London 65]

So my company came back to me today and said that through their research they have found a 'snag' that would prevent me from obtaining a visa. I do not know what the snag is yet but basically this is the only thing preventing from me getting the job now.

Through the advice i have received here and from visa processing companies i believe that i can get one. So it is now up to me to try and prove this to them. Does anyone have an idea about how i can best do this?

The MD at my company in the UK has stated that they would be willing to keep me on the UK books if i were to use my business visa. I feel that this is shaky grounds, should i even propose this as a work around? If i did this would i be in a better position to get a visa eventually?

One of the visa processing companies i talked to suggested going in through Canada, is this feasible?

The snag could be that it costs too much money (though it isn't very much compared to a salary for an experienced professional or manager in the UK), or it could be that your qualifications or job description don't qualify for the visa. There's a few other items, but those are the most likely problems.

Visa processing companies may be more willing to say they can qualify you in order to get your business. And until we know what you do, what your qualifications are and how many years of experience you have, no-one on here is going to advise you that you can definitely qualify for an L1 visa.

The stuff about Canada probably means one of two things - 1. You can use some airports Canada as a port of entry to the US, or you can go fly to Canada then enter the US by land. I'm not sure this gains you anything, though. 2. You could move to Canada until you gain citizenship, which is supposed to be easier than the US, then use a TN visa to work in the US, which is only available to Canadians and Mexicans.

[Boiler 45,319]

Speak to the Immigration Lawyer and ask would be the easiest solution.

Visa Processing Companies = scam. Theses issues are handled by Lawyers.