Legal Question in Immigration Law in Virginia

L1 to H1 Transfer

Me and My wife came here in US in Oct 2005. I was on L1 and my wife on L2. We got the Visa till Feb 2008.

In Apr 2006 my company filed the application for H1B transfer and I got the new I-94 attached with H1B petition. That time I didn't file the transfer L2 to H4 for my wife.

After getting my H1 in Oct 2006, I left my company and joined some other. After I joined them, They filed my H1 transfer from old comapany to new and also

I asked them to file the change status from L2 to H4 for my wife. Now during this time, my wife had to travel to India for some work.

I haven't got my tranferred H1 petition yet. It is still in pending state. I don't know how long they are gonna take.

My question is:since my wife has valid L2 visa stamped on her passport. Is she out of status??

If yes, Can she travel and enter back into US with L2 visa??


Asked on 3/23/07, 10:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: L1 to H1 Transfer

As your dependent, your wife's L2 visa was valid for the duration of your L1

visa which apparently terminated some time in the spring of 2006 when you

adjusted status to an H1B visa without

making application for your wife's transfer from her L2 to H4 visa.

Consequently, it would appear to me that, yes, your wife is out of status since the continued validity of her L2 visa was conditioned upon the continued viability of your L1 which apparently terminated in 2006 and I would further conclude that since, technically speaking, she is now without a valid visa that she may experience problems in attempting to reenter the United States on her L2 visa.

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Answered on 3/23/07, 11:34 pm
Carolyn Goldfarb Carolyn S. Goldfarb, Esq.

Re: L1 to H1 Transfer

When you changed from L1 to H1, you should have filed for a change of status from L2 fto H4 for your wife. She has been out of status since that time. It is doubtful that they will now grant her a retroactive change of status although it is possible that they will. Even if they do, she can't travel back on her L2 visa because she would be committing a fraud. If I were you, I would file for premium processing to get your transfer approved ASAP. Then your wife should make an appointment at the appropriate American consulate in India to obtain an H4 visa and return on that visa.

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Answered on 3/23/07, 11:34 pm


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