Hi
My company frequently sends employees from India to our parent company located in US on L1 visa. I am curently in the process of reviewing the current policy framework existing in my company around this and would like to include the normal (not necessarily the best) practices prevalent in the IT companies having a similar set-up like ours (subsidiary in India and parent company in US). Following are the key questions to which I look forward to your inputs if possible, by Wednesday as I need to present my inputs to the leadership round-table scheduled for this Friday:
1) My company entitles the L1 transferees to come back to India once every two years and finances the round-trip airfare for the employee, spouse and one dependent child. Off-course, the vacation has to be approved by the US HR and US Operations (since, during the L1 transfer period, the transferee is on US parent's payrolls and is governed by their employment policies).
What is the practice prevalent in the IT companies regarding the same:
a) Are such visits permitted at all?
b) If so, who pays the cost of these visits (Indian subsidiary or the US parent)?
c) L1 visas normally have a tenure of 5 years - what is the frequency of back visits to India permitted for such cases: once every two years, once every year ???
d) Are these visits permissible to all L1 transferees or are those whose Green Card application has been filed not allowed such privilege?
e) Some of the L1 transferees may need to be switched over to H1 status - how does the policy differentiate the applicaton of such a provision across such cases?
2) If the employment of an employee, while on L1 status and working for the US parent, is severed for any reason (either voluntarily or forced - due to performance or business reasons), does the US parent or the Indian subsidiary or either one of them,
a) Compensate the employee for his travel cost back to India including those of his spouse and children & / or
b) Compensate the employee for any unpaid amount that the employee will need to pay on foreclosure of his accomodation / car lease etc.?
c) If compensated, who i.e. the Indian company or the parent US company normally takes up the cost?
3) For an L1 employee making an exit (either voluntary or forced as above), is the full and final amount settled off both from the Indian subsidieary as well as the parent US company or either one of them (in which case, I would like to understand as to who between the US and the Indian company normally takes this responsibility) - As per the current policy in my company, when an employee is transferred to the parent company in US on L1 visa, his / her accrued paid leaves are frozen as on the date of transfer to US and the employee ceases to be on India payroll. Effective from the date of transfer, the employee is absorbed on the US payroll and is govered by the US parent company's employment policies. Normally, the Indian entity was not settling the FNF in case the L1 transferee made an exit while in US but of late, my concern is that his / her dues and liabilities should be squared off from both US and India ends.
Looking forward to your inputs.
Thanks,
Ashish.
From India, Ghaziabad
6My company frequently sends employees from India to our parent company located in US on L1 visa. I am curently in the process of reviewing the current policy framework existing in my company around this and would like to include the normal (not necessarily the best) practices prevalent in the IT companies having a similar set-up like ours (subsidiary in India and parent company in US). Following are the key questions to which I look forward to your inputs if possible, by Wednesday as I need to present my inputs to the leadership round-table scheduled for this Friday:
1) My company entitles the L1 transferees to come back to India once every two years and finances the round-trip airfare for the employee, spouse and one dependent child. Off-course, the vacation has to be approved by the US HR and US Operations (since, during the L1 transfer period, the transferee is on US parent's payrolls and is governed by their employment policies).
What is the practice prevalent in the IT companies regarding the same:
a) Are such visits permitted at all?
b) If so, who pays the cost of these visits (Indian subsidiary or the US parent)?
c) L1 visas normally have a tenure of 5 years - what is the frequency of back visits to India permitted for such cases: once every two years, once every year ???
d) Are these visits permissible to all L1 transferees or are those whose Green Card application has been filed not allowed such privilege?
e) Some of the L1 transferees may need to be switched over to H1 status - how does the policy differentiate the applicaton of such a provision across such cases?
2) If the employment of an employee, while on L1 status and working for the US parent, is severed for any reason (either voluntarily or forced - due to performance or business reasons), does the US parent or the Indian subsidiary or either one of them,
a) Compensate the employee for his travel cost back to India including those of his spouse and children & / or
b) Compensate the employee for any unpaid amount that the employee will need to pay on foreclosure of his accomodation / car lease etc.?
c) If compensated, who i.e. the Indian company or the parent US company normally takes up the cost?
3) For an L1 employee making an exit (either voluntary or forced as above), is the full and final amount settled off both from the Indian subsidieary as well as the parent US company or either one of them (in which case, I would like to understand as to who between the US and the Indian company normally takes this responsibility) - As per the current policy in my company, when an employee is transferred to the parent company in US on L1 visa, his / her accrued paid leaves are frozen as on the date of transfer to US and the employee ceases to be on India payroll. Effective from the date of transfer, the employee is absorbed on the US payroll and is govered by the US parent company's employment policies. Normally, the Indian entity was not settling the FNF in case the L1 transferee made an exit while in US but of late, my concern is that his / her dues and liabilities should be squared off from both US and India ends.
Looking forward to your inputs.
Thanks,
Ashish.
From India, Ghaziabad
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