# L1 visa, changing employer



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

Hi, we currently live in MA, and have been here since August 2013. We purchased a home here last year.

My husband has an L1 visa but is hoping to change employers next month. All H1 visas have gone so it looks like our only option is to move our family back to the UK for a year so that the new employer can arrange another L1 visa. Is this correct?

If so, during that year are we allowed to come back to the US? We really want to have the summer/Christmas/Easter in our home. My daughter is currently in 6th grade, my son is 3. We want them to be able to spend time with their friends.

Thanks for any and all advice, it is much appreciated.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

You can enter the US as tourist under ESTA if you qualify or under B2. The decision about your stay is with the immigration officer at point of entry.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Is there any chance he could convert to an EB before jumping to another employer? Granted, that's not a quick process.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

I'm not sure what an EB is, I'll take a look, thanks. His current employer had promised us they would process Green Cards and then changed policies. That's kind of what prompted him to look elsewhere.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

OK, that's what an EB is. If that's how your husband's employer wants it then I understand why they'll have to part ways (although not necessarily right away). Unfortunately the next employer may be no better in that respect.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

I understand that, there are never guarantees. However this time we will have it firmly written into his contract. The current company employed him to a permanent role (he was in their uk office for 3 years prior). They still assure him the role is permanent but they have no desire to do green card "right now". However with a teenage daughter in school we must prioritize her education.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Scotmom22 said:


> I understand that, there are never guarantees. However this time we will have it firmly written into his contract. The current company employed him to a permanent role (he was in their uk office for 3 years prior). They still assure him the role is permanent but they have no desire to do green card "right now". However with a teenage daughter in school we must prioritize her education.


I hate to tell you this but 'firmly written' leaves a lot of flexibility to the employer.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

Yes, I know, thanks. I'm more interested in solid info re visas etc. As I said, nobody knows what the future holds &#55357;&#56842;


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Scotmom22 said:


> However with a teenage daughter in school we must prioritize her education.


I'm not following the logic here. With a teenage daughter in school, and assuming you want schooling continuity for her, wouldn't this time be precisely the wrong time for a job change-induced long interruption (at a minimum) in your U.S. residence? Wouldn't the better time be just after she graduates high school?

I don't need to understand; it's certainly not a requirement.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

Forgive me for not going into further personal details with you - it was never my intention to do so, but here we go:

Should my husband remain with the current company (who have altered his job and gone back on promises made) and our visas are simply left to run out, forcing us back to the UK, then we will find ourselves moving my daughter into the UK high school system with only 2 years of high school remaining. That will have a much bigger impact on her education than taking a year out now.

I simply wanted factual information on the visa process. Thank you all for your input thus far on that side of things.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Scotmom22 said:


> That will have a much bigger impact on her education than taking a year out now.


OK, but it won't be 12 months exactly. Your husband will have to hit 12 months to be qualified, then the new L-1 application can only get underway. And there are no guarantees in the L-1 business. The visa could be denied.

You're of course correct, I don't know all the details. But I do know about that detail, for what it's worth.

Let me see if I can find another possible option for consideration. I'll be back....


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

OK, I'm back. One possible option your daughter might have is to "bridge" to high school graduation using a F-1 visa. Essentially she'd be an exchange student. So it'd work something like this:

(a) Your husband hangs on until your daughter finishes her junior year;
(b) You leave the U.S., but (with the school's pre-agreed cooperation) you help your daughter apply for and obtain a F-1 visa;
(c) She returns to the U.S. without you to finish her senior year on the F-1, probably staying as an exchange student with another family;
(d) Assuming the next L-1 comes through, you move back to the U.S. at some point after she graduates. (Or not -- that part is optional/not guaranteed.)

The F-1 is limited to 12 months when applied to secondary education. It'd be best to spend those 12 months in the form of her senior year since that'd be the most reliable continuity if your husband just has to quit, but that 12 months doesn't have to be spent on her senior year. Also, it's not free to do this. There'd probably be some boarding cost with the host family, and the public school (I assume) has to charge some tuition, by law -- presumably whatever the total school budget is divided by the school's enrollment.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

Agreed, but we have not begun summer vacation here yet, and school does not return until September next year. She would do a year of UK school as well as some tutoring etc to keep her up to date. Assuming this new company moves quickly and my husband gives his 2 weeks' notice, he could be under a UK contract by mid-June. This would allow a year plus 2-3 months for a future L1 to be processed. As I understand it, and having already gone through this process, it can be done in a short space of time (15 days).

I do appreciate this forum and the assistance given.


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

There are risks in what you describe. I hope it works out. Best of luck.


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

BBCWatcher said:


> OK, I'm back. One possible option your daughter might have is to "bridge" to high school graduation using a F-1 visa. Essentially she'd be an exchange student. So it'd work something like this:
> 
> (a) Your husband hangs on until your daughter finishes her junior year;
> (b) You leave the U.S., but (with the school's pre-agreed cooperation) you help your daughter apply for and obtain a F-1 visa;
> ...


Thanks for all of this info. However, if we are not citizens by then and are all back in the UK then her US education is a moot point.

I simply wanted my question, and subsequent responses, to be based upon our situation as of right now.

Thank you so much for all of your input and research. I guess I just wait and see what the new company and their immigration lawyers come up with.

Have a great day!


----------



## Scotmom22 (May 16, 2016)

BBCWatcher said:


> There are risks in what you describe. I hope it works out. Best of luck.


Risks to her education? Risks to our visa situation?

I'm not clear. Perhaps I haven't been clear all along. I only wanted factual advice on the visa process. Her education I can and will deal with dependent on everything else.

Sorry for any confusion. Perhaps better we just wait and see what the lawyers say, as I'm beginning to feel more stressed now than I was 😕


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Whenever a visa status is interrupted there's at least some risk the same (or another) visa status is not reclaimable. President Donald Trump freezes all L-1 applications, for example. It's roughly a corollary of "Possession is nine-tenths of the law."

I understand you're trying to mitigate risk, but leaving means introducing some risk, too. The new job simply might not work out, to pick another example. How you weigh those risks is entirely up to you and your family, of course, and with much more information available about your personal circumstances. I very sincerely hope whatever you decide works out well.


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Scotmom22 said:


> Risks to her education? Risks to our visa situation?
> 
> I'm not clear. Perhaps I haven't been clear all along. I only wanted factual advice on the visa process. Her education I can and will deal with dependent on everything else.
> 
> Sorry for any confusion. Perhaps better we just wait and see what the lawyers say, as I'm beginning to feel more stressed now than I was 😕


The only factual advice I can give you is 'it depends'. It depends on your husband, the new employer, ... The only given factor at this point is that once your husband leaves his current employer you will return to the UK and you may or may not be able to spend vacations based on ESTA/B2.


----------

