L1 to H1 Transfer during GC processing

USA L1, L2 Visa
1

Hi Experts,

Current Situation – I have L1B Visa with employer A and H1B Visa with employer B. I am currently in US on L1B visa and my visa will expire on Oct 2017. I never worked for Employer B (H1B) and have any approved petition. My employer A is applying my GC and asking me to apply for L1B to H1B transfer. I am not willing to move to H1B visa as my spouse already have EAD on basis of L2.

My Plan – My plan is to stay on L1B till my i140 gets approved and then move to H1B. In this case my spouse will be able to work on L2 till i140 approval. Once my i140 gets approved, I will apply for L1B to H1B transfer and then apply for my spouse EAD on the bases of H4 & i140.

Questions – I have following questions:

1 - Do you think this plan will work?

2 - Is i140 common for L1B and H1B and can be used on both visas?

3 - Will the L1B to H1B transfer affect my GC process in any way or delay it.

4 - Can my spouse get EAD based on i140 (L1B) and H4 visa?

Thanks in advance.

2

  1. Yes, provided you get I-140 approved within 5 year L-1 limit

  2. I-140 is tied to the job position. If the offered job position is same for L-1 and H-1, then it should be ok. Once you move to H-1 and your job description changes, new PERM and I-140 need to be filed

  3. No impact

  4. I-140 doesn’t have any annotation of underlying visa type. Once she moves to H-4, she can get EAD and can work on the basis of I-140 approval. Ensure your H-1 COS and her H-4 COS + EAD is filed together to avoid break in her employment

3

Thanks Saurabh, you answered all the questions like a Boss. Its much more explanatory then a paid query. You nailed it!!