Legal Question in Immigration Law in New York

Re: Need assistance applying for L1 visa

1. There are no statistics of such approvals as most L1 visas are issued by consular posts. A guess from experience is that attorney prepared L1 visa applications are around 90% - 95% successful.

2. You could make a Change of Status to L1 without leaving the US or apply for the L1 visa at the US consulate having jurisdiction over your place of residence in India. If making a Change of Status be aware that if you leave the US you will need to obtain the L1 visa at your local US consulate before returning to the US.

3. US consulate in India.

4. In order for you to have L1 status for more than one year your business must be profitable and demonstrate ability to pay you your wages.

4. If the L1 visa application is rejected at the US consulate there is no appeal of that decision. If the L1 status application is rejected if a change of status is made then you can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office within USCIS.

5. Nothing

I recommend that before you apply for an L1 visa you have your case analyzed as to how viable your L1 application is and what other option you may have available.

My firm can gladly offer you an initial consultation where these matters can be further discussed.

Re: Need assistance applying for L1 visa

The basic requirements for obtaining L-1 Status are as follows:

(1) the employee must have worked abroad for the overseas company for a continuous period of one year in the preceding three years;

(2) the company for which the employee has worked for a year abroad must be related to the U.S. company in a specific manner, such as parent/subsidiary, sister companies with common parent;

(3) the company must be a qualifying organization - i.e., one that is doing business in the United States and one other country during the whole period of the transfer;

(4) the employee to be transferred must have been employed abroad in an "executive" or "managerial" position (L-1A) or a position involving "specialized knowledge" (L-1B);

(5) the employee must be coming to the U.S. company to fill one of these capacities (Executive, Managerial, or Specialized Knowledge);

(6) the employee must be qualified for the position by virtue of his or her prior education and experience;

(7) the L-1 visa holder must intend to depart the United States upon completion of his or her authorized stay.

Some of these requirements are easy to meet and no extensive documentation is necessary especially when the employer is well known and well established. However, when the company is small or just starting-up, you must be prepared to provide extensive and detailed documentation to establish the eligibility for L visa.

You can be either in the U.S. or in the foreign country when applying for the L-1. Your company should of course be profitable.

It is essential that you consult with an experienced Immigration Attorney before you decide to pursue this option. Presentation of your case is very important to its future success and your new company's longevity. Our Law Office handles these types of cases successfully. To speak with myself, or any one of our Attorneys directly, please dial (212) 618-1830. Thank you.

Re: Need assistance applying for L1 visa

Startups are carefully scrutinized by USCIS and the better your financial records of the Indian parent company and projections and business plan for the operations of the U.S. affiliate are, the greater is the chance of success. Operating on a "shoe-string" in the U.S. would not be helpful; you typically need to show that you would be leasing commercial space, employing people and having an active book of business. Profitability is nice but not essential in the first year of operations. The Indian company would definitely need to demonstrate ability to fund all of the startup activities for a while, be it from the parent company's profits or other sources of funding. Another important factor is whether you are the sole shareholder/owner or if there are others who would stay and run the parent company in India while you are managing the new U.S. office operations.

Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a change of status and apply for an L visa right here in the U.S. Indian consulate has nothing to do with this process. You do want to make sure that you have not overstayed your B visa or violated its terms and conditions before applying for a change of status.

Technically, applying (and being rejected) for another non-immigrant status such as under L visa should not have any effect on your B visa, but these days the government is quite vigilant, would definitely have a record of your application and may take this into consideration if you were to apply for entry into the U.S. in the future so you want to make sure your L visa application and the whole corporate structure for establishing a business in the U.S. are done right.

I practice both corporate and immigration law and if you wish a consultation on these issues, feel free to contact me.