British citizen/ Canadian resident wants to move to USA

[967wilderness]

As per the subject title my wife and I moved from the UK to Canada just over 4 years ago as permanent residents. We have applied for Canadian citizenship but our test date is probably still 11 months away. We are interested in moving to the USA following a recent trip and so far believe (from research on the web) that with my wife as primary applicant we could go via the L1 visa or an EB-2(A) or (B).


Waiting for my wife to complete her MBA in December '08 then applying for the L1 visa seems the way to go, fast economical and relatively stress free. However, I'd like a back up plan and wanted to ask if we could/ should apply for the EB-2 route now, just in case our circumstances (or her employer) changes in the next 12 months? If nothing materialises from the EB-2 application and our position is the same in Dec '08 could we still try the L1 and cancel the EB-2?

Any ideas or comments regarding the above or whether waiting for the Canadian citizenship would make a difference?

[JAJ]

As per the subject title my wife and I moved from the UK to Canada just over 4 years ago as permanent residents. We have applied for Canadian citizenship but our test date is probably still 11 months away. We are interested in moving to the USA following a recent trip and so far believe (from research on the web) that with my wife as primary applicant we could go via the L1 visa or an EB-2(A) or (B).


Waiting for my wife to complete her MBA in December '08 then applying for the L1 visa seems the way to go, fast economical and relatively stress free. However, I'd like a back up plan and wanted to ask if we could/ should apply for the EB-2 route now, just in case our circumstances (or her employer) changes in the next 12 months? If nothing materialises from the EB-2 application and our position is the same in Dec '08 could we still try the L1 and cancel the EB-2?

Any ideas or comments regarding the above or whether waiting for the Canadian citizenship would make a difference?

Does her employer want to transfer her, and has she clocked up 12 months employment? That's normally necessary for L1.

EB-1/2/3 isn't a substitute for L1. Normally you go to the U.S. on L1 and then apply for a green card (you can in theory go direct to green card but the waiting time is normally too long).

Just because your wife has an MBA won't automatically mean she's eligible for EB-2. Many L1-A holders are eligible for EB-1, and conversely many L1-B holders are eligible only for EB-3 which takes years.

Get your Canadian citizenship before leaving. It means three things:

1. You can enter the U.S. as an L1 directly through a port of entry (with supporting documentation and an approved nomination) without needing visas stamped.

2. You will be entitled to the NAFTA TN status.

3. Most importantly if things don't work out in the U.S. you will be able to return to Canada.

[967wilderness]

Thanks for the info. My wife has 12 months with her employer,over 10 years experience in her industry, she hasn't asked her employer about a transfer yet, that is a big hurdle, we'll have to see how the employer views this. Her job is quite specialized and hard to find resources for so we hope they'll go the extra mile to keep her in house.

I think your advice to ensure we get our Canadian citizenship is key, so I guess we'll plod through the next 10-13 months of wait time then approach her employer for a transfer.

I don't know anything about the NAFTA TN so I'll go and research that before I ask any more questions from the forum.

Once again thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.