Successful L-1B Specialized Knowledge for Engineer Working in the Netherlands

• Applicant: Mr. Garcia
• Nationality: Spanish (client was working in the Netherlands)
• Applying For: L-1B
• Company: Global Engineering Company
• Time: 1 Month Preparation
• Approval Response: Received two days after filing case
• Challenges:
  1. Client was in an Engineering/Sales position and had only worked abroad for exactly one year, thus barely meeting one of the minimum requirements for L-1B
  2. Client had not regularly promoted within the company nor did he have a Management Position
  3. One month to prepare
  4. Little to no documents from foreign company
  5. Client could not afford to delay and receive an RFE as the company needed him immediately-meaning we had to make sure everything was clear and concise
  6. Current Peers/and Fellow Engineers he would be working with in the U.S. had similar educational background and experience, making it harder to prove he was needed at the U.S. company
  7. Filed Wife’s work-permit within the same week that she arrived to the U.S. as she urgently needed an I-765 work-permit
  8. Documents provided from company abroad were not properly translated

BACKGROUND

As the world becomes a more modern, global place, companies are growing to reflect it. Now more than ever, there are companies that span across multiple countries and continents in order to do business more efficiently. But what does that mean for the employees of those companies? Often, it means leaving friends, family, and familiarity behind to try to earn a living and grow in their respective careers. Mr. Garcia was one of those people, a man who, though originally Spanish, moved to the U.S. to work for an international company. However, he left behind in Europe all his connections, all of his relationships, and most importantly his wife. After a year of working in the United States, he and his wife decided to move to The Netherlands, where he could work for the same company and remain by her side. After some time in The Netherlands, Mr. Garcia and his wife found they wanted to relocate again, but this time to the United States where Mr. Garcia felt that he had better opportunities within his own company. This time, he wanted to ensure that his wife could come with him. A better life for you and your family is the “American Dream,” but Mr. Garcia’s case was a difficult one for a multitude of reasons.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

The first problem was proving that Mr. Garcia would be critical to the growth of the U.S. branch of the company. While it was clear that Mr. Garcia was a highly educated and valued member of his company, he was not necessarily more educated than his peers in the company, peers already within the United States. Mr. Garcia was also not in a management position. Though this is not a requirement for L-1B, it often helps strengthen the applicant’s qualifications and the argument as to why he/she is needed.  Despite having worked for the company for some time, Mr. Garcia also hadn’t been promoted. All of these factors, when gathered together, made it difficult to prove that Mr. Garcia should be allowed entry into the United States based on the fact that he had specialized knowledge that would help the U.S. branch of his company thrive. Part of the problem was also time. To show that Mr. Garcia did in fact have specialized knowledge, we had to communicate with Mr. Garcia, the U.S. part of the company, and the Netherlands part of the company in order to gather all the necessary documentation and evidence for Mr. Garcia’s case. However, by the time we received the case, we had less than a month before Mr. Garcia’s petition was to be filed. Where as many other firms or offices would have flat out rejected Mr. Garcia as a client based on the above factors, or worse, taken his money and handed him an one-size-fits-all template that would have failed him and his company, we knew that we had to take the necessary extra steps to gather a heavy load of evidence to offset any potential objections. 

Furthermore, we needed to ensure that all of his technical job duties were clearly explained, as we wanted to avoid getting an RFE at all costs, as this would delay the case processing even more. Given that Mr. Garcia’s case was already a bit of a tight-rope, and that he and his wife’s lives were put on hold while they were forced to wait for a ruling, we didn’t want to extend the case at all in terms of time. So, like for many clients, we had to take the communication we received from Mr. Garcia and expound upon it, make it readable and understandable for any officer that would have to view it.  Mr. Garcia was very thoroughly experienced in a wide array of engineering specializations. So much so that we had to narrow the focus of his petition down to a few specific points, lest we lose the reviewing officer with information overload. We focused the argument down to the experience that he gained while in The Netherlands, experience and knowledge he gained while abroad that would help the U.S. based branch of the company, the king of knowledge that the engineers who had stayed in the U.S. did not have.

“We walked him through the steps of what would happen and what to expect at the consulate center in the Netherlands. We did interview preparation, and we did the same for his wife. Many other law firms would have issued a standard L-1B checklist, where we had a customized strategy to ensure a quick resolution to his case.” – Caseworker

We gave Mr. Garcia and his wife interview preparation in the form of questionnaires in an effort to prepare them for the day they were scheduled to go into the U.S. consulate. We prepared a customized argument to show why his personal experience and knowledge was required for the U.S. based branch of the company and while we were hoping to avoid a RFE, we were also preparing to receive one as well.

OUTCOME

Mr. Garcia’s case was resolved within two days without a need for an RFE. Both him and his wife are now preparing for their transition to the U.S., and both have bright futures awaiting.

*Name has been changed to protect client identity