H4 stamping...company acquired..holding old I797

[rvenkat18]

Hi,

I used to work for a Company "A" and still holding my I-797 from Company "A".In Jan'2011 we got acquired by Company "B" and now my pay stubs are being generated on Company "B".

Recently, I got married and my wife needs to go for H4 stamping.

I am sending my Company "A" I-797 along with an ACQUISITION MEMO"(it has my LCA number) .Is that enough or do I need to organize any other documents apart from the regular pay stubs,bank statements so on ?

Please advice.

Thanks,

R

[Blue484]

Yes you should be fine . Check the links below that give information on acquisitions

Impact of Mergers and Acquisitions on H1B Visa & L1 Visa Holders

ARTICLE TOOLS

Print This Article

Discuss This Topic

Create News Alerts

An issue of heightened concern in the recent years with the frequency of corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, spin-offs or other action, is whether new or amended visa petitions must be filed for H and L workers. The rule differs with respect to H1B visa and L1 visa holders.

CASE SCENARIO

Company A, a software development company, was recently purchased by the Grabo Company. Company A has 11 H-1B employees working at its headquarters in Houston, TX. Grabo Company is not planning on moving any of the new employees to other locations. It does not want to bother with the time and cost of filing new petitions for these employees and opts just to add its statement to the public access file. The Vice President for Human Resources writes a letter acknowledging that it has purchased Company A, and that Grabo Company will assume all the responsibilities and obligations for the H-1B employees.

H-1B Visa Holders

A change in corporate structure does not necessarily require an amended petition. A new employer is not required to file an amended petition and new Labor Condition Application (LCA) with respect to transferred employees, even where the new employer has a new federal Employer Identification Number (EIN), if the new employer assumes all the obligations and liabilities of the LCA and immigration related matters. The employer must keep a list of all H1B workers transferred to the new company and maintain the public access files. The public access files should contain the following:

• A copy of the LCA for each transferred employee with the certification and date

• A description of the wage determination system used

• A copy of the EIN; and

• A sworn statement by an authorized representative of the new employer expressly acknowledging the assumption of all LCA and immigration obligations and liabilities

If any transferred employee is moved to a new location that was not covered under the LCA filed for that employee the new employer will need to file a new LCA and an amended petition.

H-1B Visa - Changes in Corporate Structure

Q: Do I need to apply for a new H-1B visa if my company is acquired?

A: Current USCIS laws and policies governing H-1B visa applications in the cases of change of ownership or merger are not clear-cut, according to some immigration attorneys. Some general guidelines, however, are provided below.

Acquisitions

Even if one's company is acquired by another, generally one's employer will NOT be required to apply for a new or amended petition so long as two conditions apply:

(1) The original petitioner remains the H-1B holder's employer (the USCIS usually looks to whether a new tax i.d. number has been created to determine whether the employer remains the same)

(2) There is a "successorship of interest" between the two companies. meaning that the purchasing company assumes all the rights, duties, obligations and assets of the original company and continues to run the same kind of business.

Mergers

The above conditions also apply in the case of a merger. If an employer merges with another company to form a new legal entity, a new or amended petition must normally be filed since the first condition has not been met.

Intra-company Transfers

Transfers of employees between subsidiaries or between the parent company and a wholly-owned subsidiary are currently being decided on a case-by-case basis. In one recent case, a parent company's decision to move its employees to one of its subsidiaries required it to file new H-1B visa petitions for those employees. In that case, condition #1 above was not met.

New Company Name

If a company changes its name, employers normally need not file a new or amended petition. They should merely advise USCIS of the name change if they file an H-1B extension request.

HTH