> I'm a UK citizen currently living in the UK and employed by a
> multinational company. An opportunity has arisen for me to have my
> role transferred to the US. My employer will make the necessary visa
> arrangements. I have a partner who could potentially also request a
> transfer to the U.S. via her employer. Neither of us understand very
> much about U.S. visas and what rights we may have under them.
>
> There are different options which may be open to me.
>
> 1) My employer transfers me onto the payroll of their U.S. subsidiary.
> 2) I stay on the U.K. payroll and simply get based in the U.S.
>
> Do either of these options provide the start of some sort of route to
> ultimate permanant residency and right to apply for other jobs in the
> U.S. if I ever left my current employer?
>
> Do any of these arrangements have a certain time limit before I am
> forced to leave again?
>
> If my partner and I marry does this make a difference under any
> circumstances?
>
> I appreciate that I may have unwittingly ommitted certain
> information that may be required to answer my questions. If so,
> please let me know.
>
> I am grateful for any help anyone can provide.
Well, I did part of this - so here' my take.
My employer provided me with an L-1 visa (or L1B, no idea what the
difference is).
They insisted on option 1 as they're a US company. But I don't see why
option 2 would be impossible - people on 1-3mth assignments did that &
everywhere else I work in the world (Dubai, Paris, Kuwait, Baghdad,
Amman & Ukraine so far) I remain on UK payroll.
My suggestion would be option 1. US payroll tends to be higher & I
don't know if you'd get the benefits package if you stayed on UK payroll
- medical etc. are v. important in the US. I would suggest if you're
going for a while that you consider pensions - I've chosen to keep my UK
company pension rather than moving to their US version as the UK one is
Final Salary (means I have to work in the UK for tax purposes at least 1
year out of every 10)
As far as permanent residency goes - I haven't done it - I was just
starting to think about it when I got transferred to Kuwait/Iraq. But,
there are lots of others who were in my situation & decided to go for a
Green Card. Since you can only apply from within the country, yes, your
job provides a route. In my case my company will basically tell the
truth i.e. that I have a job with them, but won't pay for the attorney
fees. You might want to check that out. Others on this forum can give
much better info than me but it seemed that friends were getting their
GC ~3 yrs after starting the process (but I wasn't paying that much
attention!)
All visas have a time limit, but most can be extended as I understand it
- L1 has a ?7? year final limit - I don't know, but I'd have thought
within 4 years you'd know whether you want to stay or not.
No idea about marriage as I'm not married or thinking of becoming so!
From what I've read on these boards, moving with your co. is the best
way to go - I was amazed at the length of time it takes for some visa -
the possibility of me going was raised in late November & I relocated
less than 8 weeks later. Good luck!!
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