Choosing L-1 or H1B?

Hi Munnabhai02,

My understanding is that there are two types of L1 visas. L1-A and L1-B.

There is no minimum a company has to pay for L1 and there is also no cap at this time(Believe there is a talk of capping it too at 35K).
You have to be an employee of the company having office in foreign land and then get transferred here.
Also if you are on L1-A you do not have to file a labour certification of get DOL clearance before starting GC.
The spouse visa you get is called L2(can't remember exactly) and the spouse can work on that visa now.
Flip side is, you need to get it renewed every year as it is for 1 year duration(extensible).
I can find more if you want from a friend who was on L1 before getting on to H1B.
 
Thanks san
Appreciate your reply. According to you what I understand is that L1 is more secure, competitive, better and the employer has a lesser chance to exploit compared to H1B.
Thanks again
 
Originally posted by munnabhai02
Thanks san
Appreciate your reply. According to you what I understand is that L1 is more secure, competitive, better and the employer has a lesser chance to exploit compared to H1B.
Thanks again
Click to expand...

munnabhia02,
Actually you are mistaken, there is no minimum pay limit for L1, so the situation can be easily exploited.

Also there is no cap on maximum L1 per year like H1(65K per year), so employers misuse L1 when H1 limit is reached.

There is nothing called more secure with L1 or H1 or any type of visa.
 
munnabhai02,
Yes, I meant what Edison has clarified. Since L1 has no minimum pay needed, some companies get folks here and pay them something like a stipend which is lot less than min pay needed for H1B.
Of-course they also pay salary back home but it still does not add up or in some cases gets close to it.

Other issue is that if you need to look for a job change here, it is
much more difficult since it is not a simple H1 transfer case anymore.

Security etc is same in both the case. You loose job = danger of packing bags :(


Tough to decide what is better. I think if you get L1A and the company agrees to go for GC quickly, it might be worth it since DOL is bypassed (but please double check) and your spouse can work even before EAD. Otherwise, given a choice, I would have come on H1 again.

Thanks..
 
Now a days L visa is also under scrutiny. Last year there was big issue about coming on L1 and working with some client. Consulates removed blanket L1 for some companies. Mainly European countries were using this technique.

I read somewhere there is limit on L visa too.
 
tammy2, I know there was a lot of talk about L1 visas also being limited but I think it has not been implemented yet but I could be wrong. Any clues where you read it?

I think, this being an election year, and the employment scene not improving much, it might be capped or some new regulations introduced soon.
 
I think if you get L1A and the company agrees to go for GC quickly, it might be worth it since DOL is bypassed (but please double check) and your spouse can work even before EAD. Otherwise, given a choice, I would have come on H1 again.

Interesting, for L1A holders who file GC, do they skip DOL step ? Does this fall under EB based category ? Does it fall the same priority dates ?
 
vsc_babu,

yes, if you are on L-1, you skip DOL step and file 140-485 straight away.

I don't know about EB category and priority dates.

Niti.
 
In case you want to use AC-21, how is the same or similar job defined?

Assuming no DOL, there is no salary or job requirements ? That can make it really portable.:D :D
 
Originally posted by Niti Upadhyay
yes, if you are on L-1, you skip DOL step and file 140-485 straight away.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. This is ONLY if you are an L-1A functional manager. If you only qualify for an L-1B you must undergo the LC.
 
Originally posted by vsc_babu
I think if you get L1A and the company agrees to go for GC quicklInteresting, for L1A holders who file GC, do they skip DOL step ? Does this fall under EB based category ? Does it fall the same priority dates ?
Click to expand...


Typically, yes. They fall under the EB-1 "Multinational Executive" category.
 
But definately one way L-1 has an additional life-line as the spouse of L-1 can work legally from day one as compared to H4's who cannot work and cannot obtain SSN.
Even if L Visa has to be renewed every year, its worth it because there is an additional household income being contributed by the spouse and couple of 100 bucks may not matter at all.
 
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