L1B visa after UK startup being acquired by US company

[Littlemonsterfr 0]

Hi everyone and happy New Year 2020 😊

 

Apologies if my question has already been posted before. I did some research but didn't find anything close enough to my case.

 

I have been working full time and continuously for almost 3 years in a UK startup (let's call it A). "A" is in the process of being acquired (asset acquisition) by a big US company (let's call it B). The acquisition process should be closed and signed at the beginning of January 2020 but I already got a contract offer to be employed directly by "B" and the contract has been signed by both "B" and I.

 

I'd like to know if, regarding of the US laws, I am eligible to ask to start the process to get a L1B visa now (because I worked more than 1 year in "A") or if I have to wait to have worked 1 year in "B".

 

Thank you,

Damien

[jmn1012 25]

1 hour ago, Littlemonsterfr said:

Hi everyone and happy New Year 2020 😊

 

Apologies if my question has already been posted before. I did some research but didn't find anything close enough to my case.

 

I have been working full time and continuously for almost 3 years in a UK startup (let's call it A). "A" is in the process of being acquired (asset acquisition) by a big US company (let's call it B). The acquisition process should be closed and signed at the beginning of January 2020 but I already got a contract offer to be employed directly by "B" and the contract has been signed by both "B" and I.

 

I'd like to know if, regarding of the US laws, I am eligible to ask to start the process to get a L1B visa now (because I worked more than 1 year in "A") or if I have to wait to have worked 1 year in "B".

 

Thank you,

Damien

I have been thru the process of being acquired and divested while under visas and the normally process was simple for me, just a lot of paperwork for the company and a few overzealous CBP guards that notice the visa in my passport still has the original company name. A simple check on their terminal and me verifying who I work for has been good.

Can I ask why you cannot just do the visa transfer from "A" to "B" and forget the new offer? You should speak with a visa attorney but if the offer is made before acquisition, you may need to start the clock of working for them outside the US again if you take the offer from "B".

 

I am sure people with more experience than I will chip in with with great advice.

[Littlemonsterfr 0]

36 minutes ago, jmn1012 said:

I have been thru the process of being acquired and divested while under visas and the normally process was simple for me, just a lot of paperwork for the company and a few overzealous CBP guards that notice the visa in my passport still has the original company name. A simple check on their terminal and me verifying who I work for has been good.

Can I ask why you cannot just do the visa transfer from "A" to "B" and forget the new offer? You should speak with a visa attorney but if the offer is made before acquisition, you may need to start the clock of working for them outside the US again if you take the offer from "B".

 

I am sure people with more experience than I will chip in with with great advice.

Thank you for your answer 😃

 

I should have said I am a French citizen working in the UK. I don't need any visa whatsoever to work, my new contract is to employ me in the UK at the moment.

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

2 hours ago, Littlemonsterfr said:

I'd like to know if, regarding of the US laws, I am eligible to ask to start the process to get a L1B visa now (because I worked more than 1 year in "A") or if I have to wait to have worked 1 year in "B".

With this kind of things, how the acquisition is structured is also important. The key word they're looking for is "B" has to be "successor of interest" to "A". If that is the case, I think you do not have to wait another year. Some acquisitions just involve the new company buying off assets of the old company and essentially dissolve the old company. 

[Littlemonsterfr 0]

2 hours ago, USS_Voyager said:

The key word they're looking for is "B" has to be "successor of interest" to "A". If that is the case, I think you do not have to wait another year. Some acquisitions just involve the new company buying off assets of the old company and essentially dissolve the old company. 

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say "successor of interest". 

 

But yes, for my case "B" is going to buy (almost) everything from "A" except the legal entity, regarding the law, of "A". So to be sure, you do think I won't have to wait one year ? Would you know by any change where I could find a kind of proof or something coming from the law which supports that ? (I already quickly talked to the company "B" about this and they were saying they'd make me wait one year but I'm not sure they are aware It could be faster and I don't want to bring erroneous information 😆)

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

2 minutes ago, Littlemonsterfr said:

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say "successor of interest". 

 

But yes, for my case "B" is going to buy (almost) everything from "A" except the legal entity, regarding the law, of "A". So to be sure, you do think I won't have to wait one year ? Would you know by any change where I could find a kind of proof or something coming from the law which supports that ? (I already quickly talked to the company "B" about this and they were saying they'd make me wait one year but I'm not sure they are aware It could be faster and I don't want to bring erroneous information 😆)

 

Successor-in-Interest: If a company has been acquired, merged or had a significant change in its ownership, the new or reorganized entity is generally considered a successor-in-interest (“Successor”) to the originally existing company.

In the immigration law context, the Successor is required to submit documentation evidencing that it has assumed the rights, duties, obligations and assets of the original employer and that it will be liable for the employment of the beneficiary subject to the terms set forth in the labor certification and I-140 Petition.

 

-For acquisitions made through stock purchase agreements, this should be a fairly straightforward process to meet the necessary criteria.

 

-In cases involving asset purchase acquisitions, the process becomes more involved as more evidence will be required. Merger acquisitions cases are very complex and require thorough examination and extensive documentary evidence in order to be approved.

 

https://www.usavisanow.com/perm/perm-faq/successor-in-interest/

[Littlemonsterfr 0]

7 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

 

Successor-in-Interest: If a company has been acquired, merged or had a significant change in its ownership, the new or reorganized entity is generally considered a successor-in-interest (“Successor”) to the originally existing company.

In the immigration law context, the Successor is required to submit documentation evidencing that it has assumed the rights, duties, obligations and assets of the original employer and that it will be liable for the employment of the beneficiary subject to the terms set forth in the labor certification and I-140 Petition.

 

-For acquisitions made through stock purchase agreements, this should be a fairly straightforward process to meet the necessary criteria.

 

-In cases involving asset purchase acquisitions, the process becomes more involved as more evidence will be required. Merger acquisitions cases are very complex and require thorough examination and extensive documentary evidence in order to be approved.

 

https://www.usavisanow.com/perm/perm-faq/successor-in-interest/

Thank you a lot, that answers all my questions ! 😃

[Boiler 45,522]

The obvious solution of for B to buy the legal entity as well.

[Littlemonsterfr 0]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

The obvious solution of for B to buy the legal entity as well.

I believe you however that is only my personal case and for the deal as a whole it would have been more complicated and long to buy the legal entity.