B1 & L1 visa matter?

dognhorsemom

Spotter is mostly correct except for one point: living in the US as an L1 for five years will NOT qualify you for a green card. In order to get a green card, whatever your status inside or outside the US, you must be petitioned for by either a qualifying relative or employer as an immigrant; the L1 petition your employer filed - and your own nonimmigrant status - cannot be automatically coverted. A separate petition is required.

Spotter 888

I will answer your questions point by point.

Your company wants you to apply for an L-1 visa so it could transfer you to their US based office. You won't be able to do that on your B1/B2 visa.

If you leave the company L-1 will no longer be valid but B1/B2 still is.

If you get L-1, B1/B2 IS STILL valid for 10 years. No need to apply again if you quit work after 2 years. (but you have to leave the US because you entered via L-1) And yes you can hold 2 visas at a time - L-1 and B1/B2.

L-1 is a non-immigrant visa BUT may sometimes lead to Permanent residency as the total validity can be as long as 7 years, more than enough to qualify for permanent residency which only needs 5 years.

I strongly suggest you do this L-1 and stay with your company until you are eligible for LPR status as the H1B is very hard to get.

Good luck!**

Oleftina

Go to www.uscis.gov it's an official site of United States Sitizenship and Immigration Services.
You will be able to get all necessary information there including what forms and fees are related to it.

Tip: if you won't be able to find it. Look for a for that you need to fill out for L1 visa, download it or at least open it, it usually has instruction sheets preceeding the form. They will provide you with necessary information.

Good luck.

1. EDIT: You can hold two visas at once.
2. Only the L allows you to work in the US. You should NOT be working on the B1
3. the B1 is good for entries 6 months at a time (even though the stamp is good 10 years)
4. The L1 on the other hand is good for an entry of 2-3 years at a time.
5. If the L-1 is an L-1A this is a very good jumping off point to permanent residency, skipping the labor certifcation step. An L-1B can even be a good starting point to permanent residency, but would likely require change to H-1B and labor certification.
6. You can use your B again after the L if the port of entry believes you are entering again for a temporary nonwork purpose.

EDIT/CORRECTION TO PREVIOUS POST: You CAN hold two visa stamps at once. Practice by some consulates (Chennai) of cancelling an underlying B when a new nonimmigrant visa is issued was a training issue and not appropriate.

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