US Immigration Lawyer’s Guide to L1 Visa Spouse Work Authorization
In this guide, our US Immigration Lawyers look at how you go about securing spouse work authorization for your husband or wife when you are entering the US on an L1 Visa.
If you need help with an L1 Visa application, our L1 Visa Solicitors can guide and support you through the process.
US L1 Visa Lawyer London
For US immigration advice contact OTS Solicitors. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or Skype consultations or at our offices in London.
L1 Work Visas and families
The L1 Visa is a great Work Visa if you are an employee of a multinational company and you have been asked to transfer from your home country of employment to work in the US-based subsidiary, branch, or parent company of your multinational employer.
Our US Visa Lawyers in London understand that often an L1 Visa isn’t just about securing a great career opportunity for an executive, manager, or specialist employee of the multinational company. It is also about ensuring that the employee’s spouse and children can move to the US as a family unit. The L1 Visa is ‘family friendly’ as the L1 Visa holder can be accompanied by a spouse and/or dependent children.
The length of the L1 Visa also makes it attractive to families concerned about minimising school disruption for school-age children. The maximum duration of stay on an L1 Visa is up to seven years for holders of the L1A Visa (executives and managers) and up to five years for holders of the L1B Visa (specialist employees). With careful immigration planning, the L1 Visa can lead to a Green Card and permanent residence for the L1 Visa holder and their family.
Understanding the L1 Visa eligibility criteria
The first step in moving your family from the UK, or a country such as India, using the L1 Visa as your route to family migration is to understand the L1 Visa criteria.
An experienced US immigration attorney can guide you through the strict USCIS rules on eligibility and the application process.
The key eligibility criteria are:
- Work history -the Work Visa applicant must have worked for a non-US company for at least one year in the last three years
- Qualifying corporate relationship - the non-US company must have a qualifying relationship with the US company. This includes parent company, branch office, subsidiary company, or affiliate
- Work role -the L1 Visa applicant must be coming to the US to work as either an executive or manager or in a job role requiring specialized knowledge
If your company wants to transfer your employment to the US our US Immigration Lawyers UK can sort out the corporate and individual steps to secure your L1 Visa. We can also help you with the necessary visas and spouse work authorizations for your family so you are not worried that they won't be able to travel over to the US with you.
Visas for family members of L1 Visa applicants
If you want your family to join you in the US, each family member will require an L2 Visa. This visa is designed for dependants of L1 Visa holders and allows family members to accompany the primary Work Visa holder to the US. Their L2 Visa will last for the same length of time as the main L1 Visa applicant but if the L1 Visa is ended their L2 Visa status will also be affected.
Family members qualifying for an L2 Visa are:
- Spouses
- Unmarried children under the age of 21
Parents, siblings, married children and older adult children won't qualify for an L2 Visa even if the L1 Visa holder can afford to financially support them. US immigration law firms can advise on alternate visa options, including Visit Visas.
Qualifying children can live and study in the US without requiring a Student Visa.
The timing of an L2 Visa application
For some families, it is vitally important that all the family members move to the US together. Other families may want the spouse and dependent children to follow later. That may be because parents want their children to finish their school year or a spouse needs to complete a long notice period with their UK employer or wait for a house sale to go through before moving to the US.
The immigration rules are flexible and allow the L2 Visa application to be submitted at the same time as the L1 Visa application or after the multinational company employee has relocated to the US and started work.
The L2 Visa application
The L2 Visa application involves the submission of Form I-539 to USCIS. It is essential to prove the legal relationship between the L2 Visa applicant and the L1 Visa applicant or holder as part of the process.
Spouse work authorization for L2 Visa holders
Nowadays, most families can't afford for one parent to be a stay-at-home mum or dad or both parents want careers. That’s why, from the family perspective, obtaining the spouse's work authorization is just as vital as securing the L1 and L2 Visas.
An L2 Visa holder or their children can study in the US without requiring separate authorization from USCIS. However, a spouse needs a spouse work authorization to be able to work in the US. Work authorizations are not available for children in the US on L2 Visas, whatever their age.
Applying for spouse work authorization involves completion of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. The form is then submitted to USCIS. If the application is approved USCIS will provide an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Without the EAD a spouse of a L1 Visa holder cannot work legally in the US. The EAD is valid for two years but can be renewed. Even if the L2 Visa holder's career takes off in the States they can't remain in the US without the L1 Visa holder as their visa and spouse work authorization is dependent on the L1 Visa.
Help from US Immigration Lawyers UK
The paperwork and application process can seem overwhelming if you are trying to navigate the relocation of your family from the UK to the US on a combination of L1 and L2 Visas and a husband or wife also requires spouse work authorization. OTS Solicitors can help with US visa applications and will assist your family in navigating all the US red tape needed to make a new life for yourselves in the US with the correct visas to live, work and study.
Our legal assistance for US immigration is tailored to your L1 Visa and family circumstances so you get the visas and authorizations you need to make a success of your US relocation.
US L1 Visa Lawyer London
For US immigration advice from top US Visa Lawyers in London contact OTS Solicitors. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom or Skype consultations or at our offices in London.
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