Here on L1-A, but company want me back in the UK... options?

[i_york]

I have been in the US (NYC) on a blanket L1 (L1-A) since Dec 2004. However, I'm still a UK employee of the company I work for and reside in the US purely on a secondment basis. My employer has now stated that they want me back in the UK on June 1st. I'd like to remain in the US if at all possible, especially as my girlfriend is a US citizen, whom I have been living with since I came over here.

The way I see it, I have 2 options... get married to my girlfriend and apply for an AOS for LPR status from my L1-A, or try and persuade my employer to sponsor me for a GC. However, both those options raise some questions that I hope someone on here can answer for me.

1) If I marry my girlfriend in a simple civil marriage ceremony (we can have a fancy religious ceremony at a later date), can I apply for AOS immediately following the marriage? If so, how long can I expect to wait for an EAD?

2) If I marry before June 1st (while I'm still in the US) and then go back to the UK, can I apply for AOS from the UK? What would happen if I got laid-off while the AOS was pending?

3) I have plenty of evidence in the form of photographs, e-mails, Birthday cards, etc to prove the validity of my relationship with my girlfriend (we've known each other for nearly 4 years and lived together since Dec 2004), but are joint bank accounts, etc required to qualify for a marriage-based GC? Currently, my name is not on my girlfriend's apartment lease and we do not have any shared finances. Would we need to show some evidence of shared finances after marriage?

3) Given that I have resided in the US since Dec 2004, is that long enough to warrant applying for an employment-based GC? The period of time that you need to reside on US soil before applying for a GC appears to be somewhat of a grey area.

4) Can my employer start the GC application process if I'm in the UK (assuming the L1-A remains valid for 6 months after I leave the US), or would I have to reside in the US throughout the application process?

Many thanks in advance for any help or advice.

 

[bhoray]

To be eligible for lawful permanent residence based on a family relationship you must meet the following criteria:
You must have a relative who is a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States who can provide documentation proving their status and is willing to sponsor you for lawful permanent residency by filing the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

Your relative must prove they can support you by providing documentation that their income is 125% above the mandated poverty line for their family, including you and all other sponsored family members. Click here to find out more information about meeting this criteria and filing the Affidavit of Support.

If your relative is a US Citizen and they can legally prove you share one of the following relationships, you may be eligible for lawful permanent residency, please see below for preference category information.

Husband or wife;
child under 21 years old;
Unmarried son or daughter over 21;
Married son or daughter of any age;
Brother or sister if you are at least 21 years old; or
Parents if you are at least 21 years old.

If your relative is a lawful permanent resident and they can legally prove you share one of the following relationships, you may be eligible for lawful permanent residence, please see below for preference category information:

Husband or wife; or
Unmarried son or daughter of any age.

Preference Categories:

The relative you wish to immigrate must obtain an immigrant visa number that is based on the preference category in which they fall.

People who want to become immigrants are classified into categories based on a preference system. The immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which includes parents, spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, do not have to wait for an immigrant visa number to become available once the visa petition filed for them is approved by the USCIS. An immigrant visa number will be immediately available for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Click here for information on obtaining an immigrant visa number if you are an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. The relatives in the remaining categories must wait for an immigrant visa number to become available according to the following preferences:

First Preference: Unmarried, adult sons and daughters of U.S. citizens. Adult means 21 years of age or older.

Second Preference: Spouses of lawful permanent residents, their unmarried children (under twenty-one), and the unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents.

Third Preference: Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens.

Fourth Preference: Brothers and sisters of adult U.S. citizens.

Once USCIS receives your visa petition, I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, it will be approved or denied. USCIS will notify the person who filed the visa petition if the visa petition is approved. USCIS will then send the approved visa petition to the Department of State's National Visa Center, where it will remain until an immigrant visa number is available. The Center will notify you, the foreign national, when the visa petition is received and again when an immigrant visa number is available. You do not need to contact the National Visa Center, unless you change your address or there is a change in your personal situation, or that of your alien relative, that may affect eligibility for an immigrant visa, such as reaching age 21, marriage, divorce, or death of a spouse.

 

[bhoray]

Based on the above information, extracted from www.uscis.gov website, it will be better for you I think to get married either before or after returning to the UK, then get your US citizen spouse to file for green card on your behalf, you'll get it faster that way, since as a spouse, you are considered an immediate relative and are not subject to immigrant visa number availability.

If you file for a green card based on employment, then you'll have to wait till an immigrant visa number is available whearas if you file for one based on family ties, esp as an immediate relative, it will be available immediately.

 

[GotPR?]

2) If I marry before June 1st (while I'm still in the US) and then go back to the UK, can I apply for AOS from the UK? What would happen if I got laid-off while the AOS was pending?

No you can not file AOS abroad as AOS is for the people staying in the US.
if you want to file for PR abroad, it is going to be CP.

3) Given that I have resided in the US since Dec 2004, is that long enough to warrant applying for an employment-based GC? The period of time that you need to reside on US soil before applying for a GC appears to be somewhat of a grey area.

No warrant period to start GC. one can start GC as soon as they are in.

4) Can my employer start the GC application process if I'm in the UK (assuming the L1-A remains valid for 6 months after I leave the US), or would I have to reside in the US throughout the application process?.

They can file while you are not in the US, but it's better to do it in the US as you are most likely qualified to file I140 and I485 concurrently. No concurrent filing if you go with CP. If you file both of I140 and I485 before you leave, you can stay in the US without L1.
If everything went fine, you can get GC with employment base faster than family base.(Assuming you were BORN in UK).