Hello fellow blinders! My girl friend (and to-be wife) is currently working as a Software Engineer in Microsoft India. She joined only a couple months back. I expect to have my I-140 approval in 3 months, and we are trying to evaluate two options: 1) Apply for a H4 EAD as soon as I get my I-140 approval and use it to apply within Microsoft US, OR 2) Wait till the end of year and return to the US on an L1 visa with her current employer (Microsoft) The thing is, the L1B visa has high rejection rates recently from what I hear and EAD has lot of news about being evoked looming over it. So I am confused as to what I should do. Any advice from people would be highly appreciated. [Addon] Does the fact that a married partner is already in the US boost/undermine the chance of L1? Thanks a lot! @Microsoft #h4ead #l1
H4 ead. Come here and apply new h1b in parallel
L1 and then EAD as backup
Hey, Thanks for your reply. I wanted to know if the fact that a married partner is already in the US boost/undermine the chance of L1? Because she will only have 1 year of exp in Microsoft when she applies
Was on a similar situation and microsoft did not apply my L1 due to lack of experience. Had to come on EAD and then switch to H1 after 2 years
L1 better
H4 ead may go away soon. Just for that risk, I say L1 and then backup H4 ead.
L1a - don't come on L1b. Makes it harder to apply for eb1a. Also note that some faang company I know had 50% rejection in a short duration (3-4 months) but it's not clear what the reason was. So disagree with the opinion that l1 is safe. It's quick, as compared to h4 EAD, that's for sure.
You are not going to get l1 at microsoft with 1 year experience
In my experience getting L1 can be difficult if the candidate doesn’t have enough years of experience, so if she’s currently joined as an entry level engineer this probably is not a good option. Also why not try for H1B first, maybe you will get lucky with the lottery.
So you are suggesting directly apply for US jobs? Do you know if companies directly offer US positions. I thought it has significantly reduced because of the lottery, which makes it hard for companies to then handle relocation
If your spouse has EAD then it isn’t a problem to find job in US, Microsoft will hire her again. In case of H4 she will have in 6-7 months(worst case) to get H4 EAD when she moves. Microsoft IDC has been flexible for female candidates moving to US for marriage i.e work in India for extra 6 months and then eligible for L1(18 months is total), I had coworker in similar situation, the hurdle would be visa stamping, Chennai consulate is pretty notorious when it comes to these cases. In worst case your back up option would be H4 EAD, which would take 6-7 months after her arrival in US, but something is better than nothing. So try L1 if she can complete 18 months otherwise H4
Is she L62 engineer at MS India? Only L62 and above can apply for US positions and L1 visa.
She won’t get the L1 visa if she’s just 2 months into her career (or at MS). EAD is the only option if she wants to move to the US.
My pref would be coming on L1 and do have h4 ead as backup option. I think ms shouldnt see L1 rejections. Only consultant types see it more. H4 ead might be going away but L1 wont.