E-1, E-2 and L-1 Spouses Can Work and L-1 Waiting Period is Cut to Six Months

As reported immediately to our GT Observer subscriber, on January 16, 2002, President Bush signed two laws affecting L an E visa holders. The first allowed the spouses of E-1 and E-2 visa holders to obtain work authorization. The second allowed spouses of L-1 visa holders to obtain work authorization and cut the 1 year qualifying time for L-1 status to six months (applies only to blanket L beneficiaries).

For companies using blanket L petitions the waiting time to qualify for L-1 status is now only six months. At this point, the reduction only applies for those companies using L-1 blanket petitions. This reduction will aid companies in bringing people to the United States twice as fast.

The INS has not issued regulations regarding the application process for applying for work authorization for qualifying spouses but the Vermont Service Center is accepting applications for L-2 spouses and will hold them until regulations are issued. The information will be posted on our website as soon as it is available. Our sources have related that regulations should be issued this month.

Return to GT Immigration Observer Table of Contents