Hello,
I have been offered a job by an American company and I was wondering what visa to apply for. Let me explain a bit about my situation. I already own an American company ( but I am resident in the UK ) because I ran a web hosting company catering for the American and International hosting market. The question is this, what is the fastest way to get a work visa? Could I apply via the L-1 route giving the argument that my American company needs me to be physically in the USA to do some work or should I go via the H-1B route? Either way, what are the typical time frames to get a visa for a UK citizen?
Also, the position I have been offered is available in Canada. Is getting a Canadian visa quicker ( I already meet their new 70 point limit for immigration ) in general than getting a US L-1 or H-1B visa?
Regards, Mark
This is a small piece of info taken from my book "Living and Working in America" by David Hampshire. There is a load of info regarding the various visa types, too much for me to write here, but you can buy a copy from amazon.co.uk, although I bought mine in WH Smiths
"L-1 visas are issued to intracompany transferees. These are persons who are employed abroad who are transferred to a branch, subsidiary, affiliate or joint venture partner of the same company in America, which must be at least 50% owned by the foreign company. To qualify you must have been continuously employed abroad by the company for at least one year (recently changed to 6 months actually) during the past 3 years, irrespective of whether the American business was in existence during this period, and must have served in a managerial or executive capacity or possess specialized knowledge necessary to the American business".
"The American employer must file a petition at the INS regional service center with jurisdiction over the place of employment in America. Labor certification isn't required. Large multinational corporations (for whom the L visa was created) can benefit from the L-1 'blanket' rule whereby they don't need to file and individual petition with the INS each time they need to transfer an employee to America. They can provide the approval notice and form I-129S petition and submit an application to their local American embassy or consulate. To benefit, a company must have had at least ten intracompany transferees approved in the last year or have combined annual sales of a minimum of $25m or an American workforce of at least 1000 employees..."
My husband was offered a post in New York in mid-Feb 2000, which he immediately accepted. We were on a posting in Singapore at the time, and the visa was issued at the US Embassy there for him to begin his new job in the US on 10 April 2000. So in our experience it was a fast time frame!
I do know that there are limits on the number of H-visas which are issued each year (I may be wrong but I think the cut-off time is sometime in October or as soon as the allocation is taken up?).
The E visas (E-1 and E-2) are for treaty traders and investors. Maybe you could explore these types of visas, but I have no idea how long they take to be issued.
My husband got an L-1 visa in less than 3 months on an intra-company transfer. However if you have been offered a job by an American company surely they will offer to sort the visa side out for you?
Best of luck. smile
Thanks for all the replys. Lizzi, yes, they have offered but getting the visa is time dependant ( the company wants the position filled when the new Network Operations Centre opens ) and so i'm interested in getting a general idea of how long it takes for both routes. Thanks.
Regards, Mark
Mwilliams, I would talk to an immigration lawyer who does a lot of US visas. They would be able to answer your questions. the only reason I say this is a lot has changed in the last year regarding the time factor on visas.
The L1 used to be the fastest way (this is the one we are on now) but there has been a big clamp down on these.
the H visa may be a problem in IT now because of the number of unemployed in this catagory. when the company applies for this for you they will have to prove that no american can do this job.
I would consider the E visa, as Dawn mentioned, if you want the fastest way. But again, this may have change now also. We had a friend apply for this one a couple of years ago and got it issued in less than a month.
I came to the US on an L-1 visa and then switched jobs and so applied for an H1-B. Last year the INS put in place a premium processing channel for the H1-B. It costs an extra $1000 BUT my visa was approved through the lawyer by email within 3 working days. Good luck.