L1 Visa

[jamesbrown]

James - I have seen it stated in n older thread on this site:

Default 12 months of contracting then an L1 transfer
I've been trying to solve that problem myself recently and I was told by the friendly corporate immigration lawyers from the US that the easiest way in would be to either be employed by a US corporation for 12 months while I live in the UK (this can be a perm employment or a contract via a personal service company) then transfer on an L1 visa to the USA where I would be either employed directly by the sponsoring corporation or via the personal service company. Other than that, an O1 visa could be a solution, or if you are a highly paid speaker, even a B1 visa could let you contract as a speaker/lecturer as long as you do not exceed certain limits.

and also here:

The United States L1 Visa

but its an old article and there seems to be conflicting opinion around as the wording on the official gov sites just
says 'employee' without a more detailed definition, hence my interest if anyone has actually done it.

thanks
M.

I'm not sure precisely what you mean by "personal service company", because it has different meanings in different places, but I'm confident that you most certainly cannot work either through your own UK Ltd in the US or a US LLC of which you are the director. All US employment visas require a US-based employer to petition USCIS, and they are explicitly employment based, so you couldn't transition to some other arrangement later on (beyond the explicit dual intent supported by H1B > Green Card, for example).

FWIW, that website you linked looks highly suspect to me, certainly not an official source.

Also, what makes you think you would qualify for an O visa: are you an internationally renowned (think, Nobel Prize) expert in your field? In terms of the visa waiver or the B visa, you cannot do any type of "productive" work or work that is paid for by a US source, so that is also a no-go. The B1, as with the VWP, allows for certain, non-productive, business activities, such as lecturing or presenting materials or attending meetings, providing you are not being paid by a US source. You need some proper professional advice, and I'd suggest that you ditch whatever "corporate immigration lawyers" you've been speaking to if they were suggesting things like personal service companies, O and B1 visas etc. Utter toss IMHO.

[stek]

Don't you need to employed for a year 12 months with the business before being able to transfer under an L-1?

[mmmBeer]

Don't you need to employed for a year 12 months with the business before being able to transfer under an L-1?

Yes but there was a post on this site from 2012 quoted above and other links I have found saying that in this instance 'employed' included contractors via agency working at the sponsor company.
However seeing as it seems nobody on here has done it or knows of anyone who has done it would indicate its wishful thinking rather than fact.

Thanks
M.

[TheFaQQer]

Having had a quick search around, the advice seems to be that if you want an L1 visa, you would have to have been an employee for a year. If the relationship between the client and a contractor is one of being a disguised employment, then you might be able to get a decent lawyer to argue this point for you - that you really were an employee, but you were working via an artificial arrangement.

Which would throw any IR35 defence somewhat.

[sal]

Your best bet is to seek feedback from the ClientCo HR/Legal department, it should be their job to arrange your Visa if they want you to work for them in US.

[mmmBeer]

Your best bet is to seek feedback from the ClientCo HR/Legal department, it should be their job to arrange your Visa if they want you to work for them in US.

Thanks Sal - that's what I'm doing however I'm pretty sure they will say break it into several shorter trips therefore no visa needed. HR will always go with the easier option.

Thanks
M.

[sal]

Thanks Sal - that's what I'm doing however I'm pretty sure they will say break it into several shorter trips therefore no visa needed. HR will always go with the easier option.

Thanks
M.

Well you will need their assistance one way or another, so if they opt for the "easy" solution in the first place they can derail you even if you try to push for the L1 (provided it's even possible to get one from legal perspective). So not much that you can do here, other than negotiate better terms for the deal if you will have to travel more.

[TheFaQQer]

Thanks Sal - that's what I'm doing however I'm pretty sure they will say break it into several shorter trips therefore no visa needed. HR will always go with the easier option.

Thanks
M.

You'll need to be careful with taking regular trips that you don't get flagged as someone who is working in the US illegally. There is a big difference between the limited things that you can do on a business visa under the visa waiver programme and what you would need a working visa for.

[mmmBeer]

You'll need to be careful with taking regular trips that you don't get flagged as someone who is working in the US illegally. There is a big difference between the limited things that you can do on a business visa under the visa waiver programme and what you would need a working visa for.

Indeed but I think with multinationals it's a moot point these days as technology has dissolved borders so with global systems staff can work from any office regardless of where the physical desk is located - but that's a whole new discussion

[TheFaQQer]

Indeed but I think with multinationals it's a moot point these days as technology has dissolved borders so with global systems staff can work from any office regardless of where the physical desk is located - but that's a whole new discussion

Tell that to American Homeland Security and see how far it gets you.