impact of B1 visa on L1 petition

[krishnank]

Hello

I work for company A in India and they will be filing L1 visa after I complete 1 year.

I need to travel to US on B1 visa for 1 week. Will this impact my L1 petition that I am planning to file.

I was told that i need to stay outside the US for consecutive 365 days to be eligible for L1 visa.

Can any one please clarify this

thanks

regards

Krishnan

[Attorney_23]

To be eligible to apply for L-1 status, the foreign national must be employed with the related company abroad for at least 1 year within the past 3 years in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge position. Ordinarily, applying for a B1 visa will not impact an existing L1 petition.

[krishnank]

Hello

Thank you for your response. I donot have an existing L1 petition, The company will be filing it after I finish 365 days outside US (in december 2012). But now a business travel has come up and I am not sure if this business travel for 1 week will have any impact on L1 eligibility.

[Attorney_23]

Brief trips to the United States for business or pleasure do not interrupt the one year of continuous employment abroad, but such periods are not counted towards fulfillment of that requirement.

[vchithu]

I am in the same boat now. My company will be filing L1 next year (Oct 2013) when I complete 365 days and I am asked to travel on B1 for 3 weeks in Jan 2013. Please share your experiences.

1. Without the 3 weeks B1 trip, I will be eligible for fresh L1A fresh on Oct 1 2013.

With the 3 weeks B1 trip, I understand I will be eligible for fresh L1 filing on Oct 21 2013.

Please confirm if my undertstanding is correct.

2. My family (husband and son) are in US in H1 and H4 respectively during my 1 year stay outside of US (Oct 2012 - Sep 2013). In case I move to a project in Canada (so that my family can meet me often) say for 6 months during this 1 year outside of US, will I be eligible for L1A in Oct 2013. Does it matter if I work in technical or managerial role in India or Canada.

3. Lastly, if I find a H1B job, will the company be able to apply for H1 in April 2013 with start date as Oct 21, 2013.

Thank you in advance for your time on this.