Jennifer Wipf: Greetings, this is Jennifer Wipf, your Guide to Immigration
Issues at Born Abroad. I am about to call Carl Shusterman, our guest expert tonight for a discussion on the new benefits for E and L visa holders. This chat is moderated. Please send questions privately to me and I will relay them to Mr. Shusterman.

Alright everyone, Carl Shusterman has joined us. Please keep in mind that
these questions are of a general nature and should not be construed as
legal advice.

Carl Shusterman: Hello everyone. I am very happy that the Immigration
Service has acted so quickly to implement the new law for E and L visa
holders and their employers. I look forward to your questions.

Question #1: I am on an L-2 visa. Are there any new benefits to me?

Carl Shusterman: Assuming you are the spouse of someone in L-1 status, you are now permitted to apply to work in the United States.

Question #2: I am on an L-2 visa. Can I begin processing my EAD?

Carl Shusterman: Yes. See http://shusterman.com/elfaq.html

Question #3: The same goes for an E visa holder?

Carl Shusterman: Yes, the new law permits spouses of E-1 Treaty Traders and
E-2 Treaty Investors who are themselves in E-1 or E-2 status to apply for
employment authorization documents (EADs).

Question #4: I have been with my company for 8 months. Am I now able to
quickly transfer to the U.S. office, due to the new law?

Carl Shusterman: Only if your company has a "blanket" L petition approved
by the INS. If your company does not have a blanket petition, but regularly
transfers executives and managers to the United States from abroad, they
may wish to apply for a blanket authorization in order to take advantage of
the new law.

Question #5: Do the new benefits apply only to people who already have an E
or L visa, and their spouses, or will it apply to me if and when I get an L-2?

Carl Shusterman: This is a permanent part of the law and applies not only
to spouses currently in E-1, E-2 or L-2 status, but to persons who qualify
for such status in the future. For example, let's suppose an L-1 visa
holder marries his or her fiancé tomorrow, and the fiancé is currently
present in the United States, as a tourist, student, or in another lawful
non-immigrant status. As soon as the fiancé becomes a spouse, he or she may
apply for a change of status to L-2 and may simultaneously apply for
employment authorization.

Question #6: I have an E visa, but I never applied for a visa for my wife,
since she couldn't work here. She remained at home. What procedures should
I follow now to both get her a visa and a work authorization?

Carl Shusterman: Your wife may apply for an E visa at a U.S. embassy or
consulate in her home country. She should present evidence that you are
currently present in the U.S. in E status and that she is your wife. When
she arrives in the United States, she may immediately apply to the INS for
work authorization by submitting form I-765 to the appropriate INS service
center along with a filing fee of $120. You should also submit both of your
I-94s to show that you are in E status and that she is your spouse. On the
I-765 she should note that she is the "spouse of E nonimmigrant."

Question #7: I am on an H-1B visa. My company has offices in the UK, where
I am from, and here in the USA. At the time, they thought an H-1B was the
way to go, but I know that L was the other choice. In light of the new
rules, I would like to change it to an L visa so my husband can get work
authorization. Is that possible?

Carl Shusterman: That is a great question! Since you qualify for L status,
there is no reason why you cannot apply for a change of status, from H-1B
to L-1, and your spouse, from H-4 to L-2. Your spouse should submit form
I-765 together with his or her application for a change of status.

There are many people who qualify for both H-1B and L-1 status. As you
correctly point out, persons in H-4 status are not permitted to work in
the United States while persons in L-2 status may now seek employment
authorization. In order to take advantage of the benefits offered by the
new law, many H-1B visa holders with spouses may wish to follow your example.

Question #8: How long does the EAD last?

Carl Shusterman: The INS implemented the new law in a memorandum issued on
February 22, 2002, entitled "Guidance on Employment Authorization of E and
L Spouses, and for Determinations on the Requisite Employment Abroad for L
Blanket Petitions."  We post this memo on our web site at:

http://shusterman.com/eds/EL-spouseEAD.pdf

This memo provides that unlike most EADs, the EAD issued to spouses in E-1,
E-2 and L-2 status will be valid for a duration of two years and may be
renewed as long as the person continues to maintain proper status.

Question #9: Is there any job limit? Can my wife do any job at all?

Carl Shusterman: There is absolutely no limit on the scope and nature of
the authorized employment. The INS refers to this as "open market"
employment authorization.

In addition, the law provides that the INS "shall authorize" employment
authorization for a qualifying spouse. Therefore, all applications that
comply with the law will be approved.

Question #10: How long does the EAD processing take? Is it 90 days?

Carl Shusterman: The law mandates that the INS shall issue EADs within 90
days. However, at some service centers, the wait currently exceeds 90 days.
Persons who have applied for EADs and waited 90 days always have the option
of completing a new form I-765 along with copies of the required supporting
documents and the receipt for the original application and walking the new
application into their local INS district office. They will receive an EAD,
which is valid for 240 days while they are waiting for their two-year EAD
to be issued by the service center. Caveat: At some busy INS district
offices, you may have to fall in line at 5:30 a.m. to have your EAD issued
the same day.

Question #11: After applying for an EAD as a L2 spouse, if I leave the
country and come back after 30 days will there any effect?

Carl Shusterman: No.

Question #12: Can others in my family also get the work permission?

Carl Shusterman: The Employment Authorization is limited to spouses.
Children in E-1, E-2 or L-2 status are not entitled to seek employment
authorization under the new law.

Question #13: Can we file I-765 with I-129 E/L at Service Center?

Carl Shusterman: Yes. And spouses who are changing their status, can file
form I-765 together with form I-539 (Application for Change or Extension of
Status) at the appropriate service center. Regarding what is meant by the
appropriate service center, persons in L-2 status should file their
applications at the service center having jurisdiction over their place of
residence. However, persons in E-1 or E-2 status are only permitted to
submit their application at either the California or the Texas Service
Centers. Therefore, concurrently-filed applications with form I-129
petitions for E-1 and E-2 principal aliens can only be filed at the
appropriate California or Texas Service Centers.

Jennifer Wipf: Does anyone else have E or L new benefit questions for Carl
Shusterman?

Question #14: What are the rules for getting L visas for me and my family
and letting them work?

Carl Shusterman: The rules for obtaining L-1 status are outlined on our web
page at http://shusterman.com/l-vsa.html. Basically, the L-1 category
applies to persons who work for a company abroad and wish to transfer to a
parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliated company in the US. Both the job
abroad and the job in the United States must be in a managerial or
executive capacity or must entail "specialized knowledge." Generally, a
person must work for the company abroad for at least one continuous year
out of the last three year period. However, where the company has a blanket
L-1 petition, the one year period is reduced to six months.

Question #15: How much do I need to have in stocks to have an E-1 and how
do I find which countries can belong and whether my family can come too?

Carl Shusterman: The rules for E-1 Treaty Traders are listed at:
http://shusterman.com/e1-visa.html while the rules for E-2 Treaty Investors
are listed at http://shusterman.com/e2-visa.html. As far as a list of
countries which have E-1 treaties with the United States, see
http://shusterman.com/e1-vsa.html and for a list of countries with E-2
treaties with the United States, see http://shusterman.com/e2-vsa.html.
Although an individual can start a company and qualify for E-1 or E-2
status, it is also possible for individuals with no ownership interest in
an E-1 or E-2 company to qualify for the same status by virtue of their
employment. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 years of age may also
qualify for E-1 or E-2 status.

There is a question no one asked that I'd like to address because it's
important. Many companies with blanket L petitions may wish to bring
certain employees to the United States to work using the new six month
qualification period. However, they should be forewarned that the six month
period applies only to applications for L status, and will not allow the
company to petition for the person to petition to become a permanent
resident in the absence of an approved application for an alien labor
certification.  For this reason, companies may wish to wait for an employee
working abroad to complete the one year requirement before transferring him
or her to the United States, if the ultimate objective is to petition the
employee for permanent residence.

Jennifer Wipf: Ooops. Looks like our time is up.

Carl Shusterman: Thank you for all your excellent questions tonight. As
many of you already know, the House of Representatives recently voted to
extend Section 245(i) to November 30th, 2002. The Senate has already voted
to extend Section 245(i) although the language of the two bills is
different. Please join us on April the 8th for a chat titled "Section
245(i) Is Back!  Who Qualifies?"

Good night everyone!

Jennifer Wipf: Good night all. Thank you for coming. I am turning off
moderation now.

© Peter and Jennifer Wipf 1999-2005. All rights reserved. No duplication without explicit written permission.