L1A to Green Card Process

[evelinn 0]

Hi, I'm currently on a L1A visa and have started looking into the possibility to transferring to a Green Card instead. It says online that the L1A is the easiest one (still long process etc.) to get a Green Card through. Has anyone gone through this process and can tell me more about it? What is the cost and time it took for you to receive your Green Card after applying?

[JFH 12,189]

Has the employer agreed to sponsor the green card? Without the cooperation of the employer, it won’t happen. 

 

Or or are you adjusting status through some other path such as marriage to a USC?

[evelinn 0]

I'm gonna discuss it with my employer once I know a bit more of the process.

[JFH 12,189]

Be prepared for them not wanting to do it. Once you have a green card you can work for any company, anywhere in the country. What’s in it for the employer to pay all those fees for you to then take off to another employer? Not saying you would do that, but how can the employer be sure that you won’t? 

[evelinn 0]

Thanks, I'm aware of all of this and that it might not be something they agree on.

However, my question is still the same and I'd like to know approximate timeframes and cost involved to make this change to my visa. Do you have any information on this?

[Boiler 43,433]

Lawyer fees are the main element and they of course vary significantly.

[designguy 1,179]

2 hours ago, evelinn said:

Thanks, I'm aware of all of this and that it might not be something they agree on.

However, my question is still the same and I'd like to know approximate timeframes and cost involved to make this change to my visa. Do you have any information on this?

What is your nationality? What kind of job do you do? If you are more specific it will be easier to help. Your employer will be the one who initiates this process. Also be aware that the beneficiary may not compensate the employer for the labor certification process.

[evelinn 0]

I'm Swedish and am working for a British company that I've been with for the past 4 years. I transferred to NYC from London in May this year. My title is Lead Project Manager and I'm working on the processes for the department globally. I'm not managing anyone in the US at the moment as I'm the only one in my area in our office here.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Would seem risky to sponsor their only employee for a green card?

[evelinn 0]

I'm not interested in hearing about negative thoughts/feedback around this. Again, I'm aware that my employer is likely to say no. My question is not around that, it's related to the process around it so anyone who is able to help with this, I'm happy to hear from as I want help in how I can get this moving. Not thoughts on why it wouldn't work.

[Boiler 43,433]

Step 1. Talk to your Employer.

[designguy 1,179]

1 hour ago, evelinn said:

I'm not interested in hearing about negative thoughts/feedback around this. Again, I'm aware that my employer is likely to say no. My question is not around that, it's related to the process around it so anyone who is able to help with this, I'm happy to hear from as I want help in how I can get this moving. Not thoughts on why it wouldn't work.

As @Boiler said the first step is talking to your employer. If they agree the next step would be for the employer to retain a lawyer and begin getting a labor certification. What kind of qualifications do you need for your job? For the labor certification (PERM) your company will need to actively recruit an american worker for your position. If they find a qualified american they have to have a VERY good reason to not offer them the position. Seeing how you are in NYC which there are alot of people with PM background this might be a difficult step for the company to overcome being able to show they were not able to find a qualified american. Lets say everything goes well once the recruitment period and cooling off period are done then the labor certification can be applied for. If no audit occurs you are looking at 4-6 months. If you get an audit more like 6-10 months till everything is done. Note that any fees associated with this process (IE laywer, job posting, application fees) must be COMPLETELY paid for by the company. The company may not receive any compensation from the employee for this

 

Once you have the PERM the company can apply for an I-140 (Petition for an Immigrant Worker). The company can decide to premium process or standard process. With PP if no RFE you should have an answer within 15 business days. If you dont PP then it will take about 6 months to adjudicate.

 

Once your I-140 is approved if you are in the US you can choose adjustment of status or if you are outside the country you will have to go for consular processing. If you dos AOS then uscis will handle the case and you will have to make an appointment. I think they are taking between 6-12 months to get it done depending on where you are. If you do consular processing then the petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center who will then review your documents and forward to your home country embassy/consulate for the interview.

 

 

All in all you should expect it to take about 1-2 years from start to finish. A good immigration laywer for the whole process will be around $10,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[designguy 1,179]

3 hours ago, evelinn said:

I'm not managing anyone in the US at the moment as I'm the only one in my area in our office here.

Also which EB category would you expect to file under? The fact that you are not managing anyone here may make it difficult to qualify for an EB1-C so you would need to do either an EB-2 (If you have an advanced degree) or EB-3(If you have a bachelors) making the PERM process unavoidable

[evelinn 0]

On 8/11/2019 at 7:03 PM, designguy said:

As @Boiler said the first step is talking to your employer. If they agree the next step would be for the employer to retain a lawyer and begin getting a labor certification. What kind of qualifications do you need for your job? For the labor certification (PERM) your company will need to actively recruit an american worker for your position. If they find a qualified american they have to have a VERY good reason to not offer them the position. Seeing how you are in NYC which there are alot of people with PM background this might be a difficult step for the company to overcome being able to show they were not able to find a qualified american. Lets say everything goes well once the recruitment period and cooling off period are done then the labor certification can be applied for. If no audit occurs you are looking at 4-6 months. If you get an audit more like 6-10 months till everything is done. Note that any fees associated with this process (IE laywer, job posting, application fees) must be COMPLETELY paid for by the company. The company may not receive any compensation from the employee for this

 

Once you have the PERM the company can apply for an I-140 (Petition for an Immigrant Worker). The company can decide to premium process or standard process. With PP if no RFE you should have an answer within 15 business days. If you dont PP then it will take about 6 months to adjudicate.

 

Once your I-140 is approved if you are in the US you can choose adjustment of status or if you are outside the country you will have to go for consular processing. If you dos AOS then uscis will handle the case and you will have to make an appointment. I think they are taking between 6-12 months to get it done depending on where you are. If you do consular processing then the petition will be forwarded to the National Visa Center who will then review your documents and forward to your home country embassy/consulate for the interview.

 

 

All in all you should expect it to take about 1-2 years from start to finish. A good immigration laywer for the whole process will be around $10,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for all this, super helpful! I'm not entirely sure about the EB category, HR and the lawyer dealt with everything until approval and I had to go to the embassy for an interview.

[Agoy III 0]

an executive or manager of a multi-national company with L1-A visa usually undergo intra-company transfer from outside USA and does not require labor certification as compared to L1-B visa category. The route is EB1C and is excluded in premium processing...