Who Is Responsible For Renewing My Visa; Me Or My Employer?
If we are talking about a non-immigrant visa, it really depends on the classification. For example, some of the visas allow for an entrepreneur or business owner to be both the employer and employee. For example, an H visa does not allow self-employment, but an E1 or E2 visa allows the owner of the company to come to the United States and run the company while being employed by it at the same time. In most situations, the employer is responsible for applying for your non-immigrant visa, regardless of the type of visa, unless you have a visa that allows self-petition.
What Will Happen To My Family’s Visas Here In The US If the Company I Work For Goes Out Of Business, Is Sold, Or Merges With Another Company?
If you are on an H-1B visa and you are fired, laid off, or the company goes out of business, you will have a 60-day grace period to find another employer and transfer your H-1 B to that company. If the company is sold and the new company does not want to hire you, you would be in the same situation. If it merges with another company, you will not have a problem, but if the new entity acquires your old company then you may have a successor interest kind of issue. You may have to amend the petition with USCIS to tell them that you have a new employer, but usually, in a successor interest, you are probably going to continue without any issues.
If you are on an L1 visa, you have to maintain the same percentage of ownership, or the international company has to be based here in the US, and the owners have to be the same here and overseas.
For an E2 company, you will have to amend the petition and make sure that your petition and inform the government that instead of having your own company, you merged with another company, and hopefully, you will have enough stock in the company for you to still classify as an E visa recipient.
It really depends on which classification you are in.
If My Work Visa Is Approved, How Long Before I Will Be Able to Legally Work In The United States?
It depends which classification you are under. For example, if you are an H-1B and you are in the United States, you will not be able to start working on that H-1B until October 1st of the fiscal year in which you actually got the visa. If you are on the E visa, you can’t start working until the petition is approved. If you are on the L, you can’t work until you get your L1. So, immediately after getting that visa petition approved, you will be able to work on your E and your L visa. There is no waiting period.
For more information on Renewing An Employment Based Visa, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling 1-888-963-7326 today.