Complicated situation.

Hello everybody,

I'm in a bit of a knack. My current employer has made me an offer to go work in the US which I have accepted. But they pursued an L1 visa (internal transfer) for which I seem to be missing a credential (bachelor's degree - my Quebec degree was evaluated by some company and deemed to be the equivalent of a two year post secondary degree). That being said, my case was still sent through USCIS (as they sometimes make exceptions) but was deemed as weak by my company's immigration folks. I'm expecting some news from this within 5-10 days (they paid the fees for the accelerated process). Now this might actually work out, but I'm not convinced at this point. And the position NEEDS to be filled (and I'm the only candidate that makes any sens for the position).

Now I've been looking, as an alternative, into trying to get a TN1. I have what's considered to be a 2y post-secondary (evaluated by trustforte) degree. Add to that 12.5 years of experience in the field (5+ of which for my current employer), a number of professional classes and certifications (IBM IT Specialist accreditation, cisco, etc).

I a few questions regarding this scenario.

1- Does anyone think having applied for a L1 first, being denied and applying for a TN might be a problem?

2- Is my case strong for a TN? Should I be worried about being rejected?

3- If I try out for a TN, should I bring along my dependents (wife and young kids) right away or can I file for them later? Is there any possible issues filing for them later (we're all born and raised in Canada)

4- What is required from them employer for sponsoring a TN? I've noticed the employment letter requirements which are clear and simple (job role, temporary status of the position, salary, etc).

5- Does anybody know why they ask for salary? Does a high salary impact your chances in any way (positive or negative) of getting the visa? (my employment letter states around 130K/yr)

Any answer/help is greatly appreciated.

Be more specific:
What TN profession are you attempting to apply for?
What is your job?

5)They ask for salary to see if you job title matches average pay for the position you are being hired as. So if a Computer System Analyst average salary is $50,000 Dollars a year and your job offer pay vastly less it could be a clue that you are not really a CSA but a programmer.

3)Wait until after you get approval as a TN, And supply your wife a Copy of your PP and I-94 to provide CBP also bring Marriage Certificate and childrens birth cert showing that you are the father and Husband. She must ask for admission as a TD documented on an I-94 so that the children can attend school while you are working in the US.

2)Most TN professions require a Bachelore degree, so unless your one of the few professions that do not require a bachelore then your not looking very good. Why is your bachelore degree from quebec only evaluated as a 2 year degree. Did you only graduate from a C-jep school? (mind my spelling) that would explain alot.

Good luck with the L1.

L1A or L1B?

I don't understand why an L1 would be denied based on education, all your employer has to do is say that you're the only one with the skills needed for the job, and you have the experience. Degrees are not necessary for L1 visas. I don't have a degree and got an L1B no problem, all I did was get all the paperwork together and went to the airport and applied right there at the POE. You don't have to send it off to the consulate.

g-op, I'd be applying for Computer systems Analyst (and that's REALLY what I'm doing, not programmer or anything else). From what I can find, the requirement for that position is as follows:

Computer Systems Analyst
Baccalaureate or Licenciatura degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post Secondary Certificate and three years' experience.

The L1 I'm going for right now is L1B

Reba:

Great to hear from someone from NC (I'm heading out to Charlotte if things work out).

I don't know. the immigration folks from my company told me that they usually don't sponsor anybody for L1B without a master's degree. I got all the internal exceptions for that, but they then mentioned that without a BSC I make a "very weak" case for specialized knowledge (but I did read the package my hiring manager put together for me, and its really good). Plus, the position I would be assuming in NC would be the position I have been doing here for the same employer for 5 years.

Reba, when did you get your L1B?

g-op

forgot to mention, no my degree is actually a "university certificate" - 30 credit

If you are a computer systems analyst, anyone one qualified to be a computer systems analyst could do that job. So how can you claim to have specialized knowledge? A systems analyst is a systems analyst, this is a generic position that anyone in the field can do. It will be interesting if USCIS actually approves a Computer system analyst as an L1B, Of coarse I'm sure your L1B application does not describe your job simply as a computer system analyst or else you would most certainly be denied. Let us know how your job was decribed in your application and if it is approved.

Take care. CSA.

L-1 is better if you have family, because your spouse can work on L-2. L-2 is easy to get, you simply show up with a marriage certificate and the birth certificates for the kids to prove the relationship.

Like Reba said, not sure why the education is that big of a deal, what you have to have is "specialized knowledge", which USCIS essentially interprets as being knowledge specific to that company. E.g. if they have some sort of bespoke internal IT system and you know how to use it, that would be "specialized". I.e. knowledge which is not available in the general job market.

TN-1 would be more of a pig, because with TN-1 you do need all the right degrees, etc., and the job must fit into a NAFTA category, which is narrower criteria than for L-1.

Applying for L-1 and then applying for TN-1 is logistically difficult because there is no visa for Canadians, you apply at the POE for either one. They won't accept the L-1 application unless they think there's a chance it will be granted. You actually enter the country while the application is processed. So if it's turned down, you've got to go all the way back to get TN-1 (or to another POE).

I got my L1B in 2001. My "specialized knowledge" was 13 years on the job with that particular company, and I had NO corresponding education for that particular job.

If you have 5 years with this particular company, the L1B should be a good fit. Although off the top of my head, I don't recall if there is a specific number of years of "on the job" that USCIS considers to be "specialized knowledge".

Thanks for all your answers.

G-OP, I get your point about not having specialized knowledge with this position. But my role is with a hardware/software manufacturer as pre-sales technical resource (often refered to as SE). This means we training on a regular basis on products that are not readily available, and that we have access to controlled information (undocumented problems and features with regards to hardware/firmware, cost versus MSRP, etc) that my employer obviously wants as few people as possible to know of. Plus training someone new for the position would require a minimum of two years (two years during which revenues of the company would be greatly affected for that geography).

Thanks for all your answers.

G-OP, I get your point about not having specialized knowledge with this position. But my role is with a hardware/software manufacturer as pre-sales technical resource (often refered to as SE). This means we training on a regular basis on products that are not readily available, and that we have access to controlled information (undocumented problems and features with regards to hardware/firmware, cost versus MSRP, etc) that my employer obviously wants as few people as possible to know of. Plus training someone new for the position would require a minimum of two years (two years during which revenues of the company would be greatly affected for that geography).