Can I Get An L-1b Visa?

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TheNetisYours

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I have been asked by my employer in the United States to move down to their head office. I have been working in the Canadian office for nearly one year and was wondering if the L-1b visa should be the one I try to get? The position is for a System Administrator which I have been doing in the same capacity in Canada for the past year (and I have 3.5 previous years experience at other companies in the same/similar positions). One of the reasons they would like me there is because they purchased the Canadian branch a couple of years ago, and they don't have much insight to the policies and procedures here (as much as they should have anyway). They have multiple offices in the US (3) and oversees (4 small ones). Would my case make for 'Specialized Knowledge' regarding the policy and procedures (which I am an expert here at) of the Canadian and oversees offices, be approved on this merit? They have 3 Systems Administrators in their US locations, which do a similar job function, without knowledge of the Canadian policies and procedures. I also have formal education (1 year accelerated Technical College Diploma) and the other administrators do not - if that helps any.

I'd appreciate any information anyone might have regarding the validity of my request.
 
TheNetisYours said:
I have been asked by my employer in the United States to move down to their head office. I have been working in the Canadian office for nearly one year and was wondering if the L-1b visa should be the one I try to get? The position is for a System Administrator which I have been doing in the same capacity in Canada for the past year (and I have 3.5 previous years experience at other companies in the same/similar positions). One of the reasons they would like me there is because they purchased the Canadian branch a couple of years ago, and they don't have much insight to the policies and procedures here (as much as they should have anyway). They have multiple offices in the US (3) and oversees (4 small ones). Would my case make for 'Specialized Knowledge' regarding the policy and procedures (which I am an expert here at) of the Canadian and oversees offices, be approved on this merit? They have 3 Systems Administrators in their US locations, which do a similar job function, without knowledge of the Canadian policies and procedures. I also have formal education (1 year accelerated Technical College Diploma) and the other administrators do not - if that helps any.

I'd appreciate any information anyone might have regarding the validity of my request.

Yes... you can get L1 visa
 
Thanks SetMax! Is there usually any hassle at the border when applying for this status? I have read a few websites which call this type of application, especially for a System Admin..... Problematic. Any further insight you (or anyone else) can share would be much appreciated.
 
TheNetisYours,
If you can show that you are getting transferred as a manager, then you may qualify for an L1a, which would put you on the fast track to getting a green card. If you want a green card, this is the track to take, since you'll be able to skip a lot of the time in the beginning of the process like the LC, and you wouldn't need to worry about a priority date either. I'm guessing it would take about a year or two if not less to get the GC in your hand if once you started the process.

Otherwise, you would only get an L1b, in which case, if you wanted to get a GC, you would be in the same situation as most people on this forum, and the wait is about 4-5 years these days, if not more.
 
Hi curiousGeorge,

I am not too worried about getting a Green Card. I won't be going as a manager, just as a valuable worker who has some clue about what the Canadian office is doing. In all honesty I really just want to go in order to enhance my resume, learn more about the company I currently work for, and experience living in the USA for a while. Plus, I am single, so you never know down the road I might meet someone who becomes that 'special' person, however that really isn't my intent. At this point in the game I just want to know if I am going to receive any hassles filing for a L-1b, mostly because I don't want to somehow end up without a job, or go through the embarrassment of getting denied. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. But judging by the couple of comments I got here, it doesn't look like this is going to be that difficult. And again, I'd appreciate any comments regarding this.

Thanks Curious!
 
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