AoS from L1b (ex K1)

[GianlucaP 1]

I’m Italian and my spouse (fiancée until 2 weeks ago) is an American citizen. After having my K1 visa approved last July 1st, the corporation I’ve been working with for several years sponsored an L1b visa to let me have an immediate work permit and having me working for them in their subsidiary in US.

 

When I got into the US with a K1 and an L1b visa on my passport, I was asked with which visa I wanted to be admitted and I confirmed the intention to enter with the L1b.

 

L1b has granted me the work permit and the opportunity to freely travel in and out of the country.

 

Two weeks ago I got married with my fiancée in Michigan and I’m restarting the immigration journey.

 

I suppose now my spouse should file the I-130, together with my I-130A, the I-485 and the ancillary forms.

 

I wonder if there’s expertise in the forum to clear a couple of doubts I have as described below.

 

 

1. While filing the I-130 and the I-485 I’m not supposed to request a work permit since it is already granted by the L1b visa. Correct?

 

2. Would I keep the possibility to travel, temporarily leave the US and return with my L1b or the adjustment of status process invalids these privilege? In other words, am I free from the obligation to request an advance parole document through the I-131 and from being stuck in the country until the whole process is completed?

 

Thank you in advance for any informed advice you can provide!

[arken 4,197]

File for EAD and AP both for free. They are independent of your L1b status. As long as you don't use EAD n AP for their intended purpose, you maintain your L1b and can travel in and out of the US freely. You can travel under your L1b while AP is processing as well.

[GianlucaP 1]

Thanks Arken!

 

You recommend to file for EAD and AP 'just in case' for any reason my L1b would (crossing fingers won't...) expire or I loose the status requirement (the company..."changes its mind" and send me back to Italy) before the GC process is completed?

 

Thanks for confirming.

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from Work Visas forum to AOS from Work/Student/Tourist Visas ***

 

[laylalex 7,293]

My husband AOS'd from an L1B and applied for EAD/AP just in case the AOS took forever or he lost his job. That way he could keep working and travelling if something happened. Since they're free, why not apply for them? 

 

We found the whole process pretty straightforward. Adjusting from a dual-intent visa is one of the best situations to be in -- you get to be with your spouse while you adjust, AND you can work and travel under the terms of your existing visa at the same time. Good luck!  

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

On 1/22/2022 at 4:07 PM, GianlucaP said:

Thanks Arken!

 

You recommend to file for EAD and AP 'just in case' for any reason my L1b would (crossing fingers won't...) expire or I loose the status requirement (the company..."changes its mind" and send me back to Italy) before the GC process is completed?

 

Thanks for confirming.

there is no added value to you to have EAD/AP. you can use L1  to go in and out until i-485 is approved. even if you lose your employment , you can stay in US. they wont penalize you if you choose to stay in the US considering your sponsor is US citizen. effectively no penalty for you. all out of status penalties are waived for you on at all times. so zero risk plus you dont need  it like those who come on K1 visa 

[laylalex 7,293]

1 hour ago, igoyougoduke said:

there is no added value to you to have EAD/AP. you can use L1  to go in and out until i-485 is approved. even if you lose your employment , you can stay in US. they wont penalize you if you choose to stay in the US considering your sponsor is US citizen. effectively no penalty for you. all out of status penalties are waived for you on at all times. so zero risk plus you dont need  it like those who come on K1 visa 

Why not get it though? It's free. If you lose your job as an L1 and you're in the middle of AOS without an EAD or AP, suddenly you can't just come and go as you please, and you can't take another job. If your employer cuts you loose, that's it, game over. Sure you can stay without penalty, but some people want the added protection of being able to work and travel if the worst case scenario unfolds. We wanted to make sure that my husband could travel back to the UK if he needed to at all stages of his AOS, and while he was never in danger of losing his job, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

On 1/23/2022 at 7:19 PM, laylalex said:

Why not get it though? It's free. If you lose your job as an L1 and you're in the middle of AOS without an EAD or AP, suddenly you can't just come and go as you please, and you can't take another job. If your employer cuts you loose, that's it, game over. Sure you can stay without penalty, but some people want the added protection of being able to work and travel if the worst case scenario unfolds. We wanted to make sure that my husband could travel back to the UK if he needed to at all stages of his AOS, and while he was never in danger of losing his job, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

there is no game over when you are married to a US citizen. you can apply all you want. its a redundant thing with zero value  other than adding multiple applications to USCIS that will never be used. 

[laylalex 7,293]

7 hours ago, igoyougoduke said:

there is no game over when you are married to a US citizen. you can apply all you want. its a redundant thing with zero value  other than adding multiple applications to USCIS that will never be used. 

Errrrr, I beg to differ. As I said before, if my husband had lost his job during AOS and he hadn't applied for an EAD/AP, he wouldn't have been able to work or travel because he would no longer have a valid visa. That's not something he was prepared to do for months without having any idea of when he could again. Coming here on a work visa sets up very different expectations than coming over on, for example, a fiance visa. When we applied, AOS looked like it could take over a year; as it stood the EAD/AP took 7 months to approve. What if he'd lost his job in the meantime? Not a risk we were willing to take.

 

There is zero cost to having an insurance policy like applying for the EAD and AP,  it doesn't affect anyone else, and it doesn't affect your own processing time. I guess I'm missing something.

[igoyougoduke 1,662]

39 minutes ago, laylalex said:

Errrrr, I beg to differ. As I said before, if my husband had lost his job during AOS and he hadn't applied for an EAD/AP, he wouldn't have been able to work or travel because he would no longer have a valid visa. That's not something he was prepared to do for months without having any idea of when he could again. Coming here on a work visa sets up very different expectations than coming over on, for example, a fiance visa. When we applied, AOS looked like it could take over a year; as it stood the EAD/AP took 7 months to approve. What if he'd lost his job in the meantime? Not a risk we were willing to take.

 

There is zero cost to having an insurance policy like applying for the EAD and AP,  it doesn't affect anyone else, and it doesn't affect your own processing time. I guess I'm missing something.

yeah whatever feeds your boat. he is already on L1. zero liabilities other than wasting governments time and effort. 

[laylalex 7,293]

I don't feed my boat anything, I don't think it has a mouth.  

[GianlucaP 1]

I eventually resolved to file for EAD and AP together with my AoS. I was at UPS today. Now the waiting begins. I'm anyway b;lessed by my L1b so I cannot but being grateful. And soi I am...