L-1 Visa

L-1A individual visa interview waiver

Question details

I had L-1B individual visa which was rejected during the extension process about 2 years back and my company filed fresh L-1A individual petition after I came back to India which is approved now. Does my case for L-1A individual visa qualifies for visa waiver? Note that : I also had H1-B denial after it was picked in lottery in RFE process before L-1B was approved.

It appears that you may not qualify for an interview waiver because you had an H one B denial that was never overcome.

FAQ Transcript

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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.

Are you eligible to become a naturalized US citizen?

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1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee. 

2. My brother is a US citizen, and he applied for our mother's green card. Everything is clear, all paperwork is done, but due to the pandemic, we are waiting for the interview date from March 2021. Do you have any information on how we get the date or how much time it will take?

3. My daughter is in Dallas, US, and under medical treatment. She is there with an IN40 visa. As a father, I want to be there during her medical urgency. How can I get a visa now to be with her in the US?

4. I am a US citizen currently in India. I am traveling back to the States in mid-February for two months and want to take my Indian-citizen senior citizen mother with me for that duration. Her last US tourist visa expired eight years ago. (She has an active Schengen visa on her passport) Is there a way she can get a short-term two-month visa to the US?

5. I stayed outside of the US for more than two years because of COVID-19. Am I eligible for naturalization? I came to the USA in August 2016.

 

*Please note that the queries have been put together and edited by the Economic Times to address similar questions at once and that the answers are clear and relevant to the audience.

1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee. 

FAQ Transcript

Note: For the NRI readers, The Economic Times has started an immigration helpdesk. A team of experts which includes Rajiv S. Khanna will address the most pressing issues. Please see the link below.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/nri-helpdesk-who-is-eligible-to-become-a-naturalized-us- citizen/articleshow/89116038.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Impact of subordinate employees outside the U.S. or in third countries on L-1A and EB-1 petitions

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I was on L-1A and later switched to H-4 EAD 3 years back (working with the same Indian multinational company for 15+ years). I manage a large team here in the USA, and some of my reportees are in the U.K. Since the H-4 EAD extension is taking time, my company plans to move me to Canada for one year. As per the plan, I will be back to the USA on an L-1A visa, and then the company will file for my green card in the EB-1C category. I don't have any team in Canada, and I will mainly manage the same U.S. and U.K. team from Canada.

 

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FAQ Transcript

The USCIS will consider the broad range of your duties within the business context, including employees being supervised and managed in countries other than the USA (or Canada). In our experience, the USCIS looks at whether the benefit of the work you perform with your dispersed team flows to the petitioning employer and the corporate group, department, or division within the L-1/EB-1C equity/control relationship. But, of course, your particular facts need to be examined in context. So have your lawyers look at them very carefully.

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

Visa Stamping for L-2

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I am on an L-1 visa, and I am working in the U.S.. My wife is outside the U.S. Her L-2 visa has expired. We want to get an appointment somewhere to get visa stamping together. I cannot travel without an appointment, or else I will be stuck and will not return to the U.S. without visa stamping. The embassy has not opened for more than a year now, and she is stuck, so how can we get appointments? Can this be an emergency appointment case?

 

We do not have enough information about your case, but generically, it appears that your wife may have the option to go through the dropbox process. Please look into that. Also, emergency appointments are just that: reserved for an emergency. Most consulates are not likely to entertain such a request unless there is a real emergency.

FAQ Transcript

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

Resigning Under L-1 Visa

Question details

1. I am currently on an L-1 visa but I am thinking of resigning my job. I have an Australian passport, so if I do so could I just change my status to the Visa Waiver Program or would I need to physically exit and re-enter the country?

2. If I subsequently wish to stay longer than 90 days under the visa waiver program, am I able to simply exit and re-enter the country to restart the 90 day period?

1. You will have to exit and reenter OR apply for a change of status to 

L-1 to GC

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I am on L-1 visa until 2015, according to my employer's attorney the I-140 form was already approved, now my employer does not want to continue with the I-485 form process (because they don't want to pay attorney's fees) and will not release any information related to my case, do I have any chance to continue with the GC process by myself? Or will I be facing deportation at the L-1 visa expiration date?

There is no problem with you paying the I-485 fees. But the employer must be involved to the extent that they need to provide a (truthful) letter evidencing continuity of your employment.

Fresh H-1B After 6 Years

Question details

I possess a US Master's Degree in Computer Science and also worked in the US for 7 yrs, 6 of them on H-1 which expired on May 31, 2012. I have since been in India and will complete 12 months of physical presence outside the US in early June 2013. I do have an employer ready to petition on my behalf on April 1st but could you please help shed some light on:

1. Given my past H-1 stay in US, am I subject to either cap of 65,000 or 20,000? If neither, can petition be filed anytime of year after 4/1? Since 12 mos. of physical stay in India will complete in June, can petition be filed on April 1st?

2. Does 12 month rule of physical stay outside the US apply if my current employer were to petition an L-1?

1. You will be subject to quota and USCIS will not accept the filing until one year is over.

2. Being outside for one year does give a fresh start on the L-1 times as well. And, L-1 are not subject to quota.

Blanket L visas and I-129S

Question details

With the new guidance for L visas to be issued for the maximum reciprocity period, Blanket L visas have been issued for five years when an I-129S is certified for less time. How will beneficiaries be able to get a new I-129S approved by a consular officer if a visa application will not be required?

Upon expiration of the initial validity of the approved I-129S, a beneficiary may apply for an extension of his or her status with USCIS. If approved, the alien can continue to utilize his and her still valid visas for travel to the U.S. The approved extension of status application, not the initial I-129S, is proof to CBP of his or her eligibility for admission.