When Immigration Matters

Spouses and dependents of L1 visa holders are issued L2 Visas. L-1A visas are foreign nationals who come to work in the US in a managerial or executive capacity. L-1Bs are similar, but the nature of work pertains to specialized knowledge. These are non-immigrant visas that enable you to live in the United States for a limited amount of time.

L2 Visa holders are allowed to work in the United States. However, up until now they needed to file an application with United States Citizenship and Immigration to obtain work authorization and could not work until they received approval. There are lengthy delays in obtaining approval which in some cases can take 9 months to a year.

Timing & the EAD

As a result of a federal lawsuit, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a new policy which allows L2 visa holders entering the United States to immediately work without applying for work authorization. The ability to work will be noted on their I-94 issued by Customs and Border Protection and they will not have to apply for work authorization. The I-94 is the Arrival/Departure Record and the annotation will appear as “L2S”. The purpose of one is precisely what it sounds like—to keep track of non-citizens as they enter and exit the United States.

It is important to note that L2 visa holders who have not entered the USA since the change in recent policy still need to apply for work authorization or work authorization extensions unless they leave the USA and reenter on their L2 visa.


Pollak, PLLC

Contact Pollack, PLLC, for a complimentary consultation for more information about employment-based visas. We cannot change the world but we can change yours.

Today January 25, 2021, President Biden issued a “Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Non-Immigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease.”   In regard to both immigrants and non immigrants:

The Trump administration announced new, long-anticipated restrictions for the H-1B high-skilled visa program on October 6, 2020, some of which will go into effect this week.  The rules are "far and away, one of the most significant reforms made to the H-1B program in the past 20 years," said Deputy Secretary of Labor Patrick Pizzella.  The rule from the Department of Labor, which will go into effect Thursday morning, will change how much employers will be required to pay foreign workers they hire on H-1B visas and Green Cards, forcing them to pay workers more.  The rule may be viewed at https://s.docworkspace.com/d/ANohAcmTk6tJqNS2uqWdFA

Breaking: Tonight,  the District Court for the Northern District of California in Immigration Legal Resource Centre v. Wolf enjoined the USCIS Final Rule increasing fees.  The Final Rule was supposed to go into effect on October 2, 2020 and will not pending the final adjudication of the above referenced case.  A copy of the Order is attached at https://s.docworkspace.com/d/AC_LxhOTk6tJkISSqqWdFA