If I start the GC process on an L1, do I or my spouse have to be
physically in the US, or is that mandatory only at a later stage?

Also, how long does the L1 green card take these days (tell me in
stages). When can I transfer jobs?

"nyc" <nycwong@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:6a3639dc.0409030940.238f856@posting.google.co m... If I start the GC process on an L1, do I or my spouse have to be physically in the US, or is that mandatory only at a later stage?

It becomes mandatory only after you have obtained your immigrant visas. They
are valid for 6 months only.
Also, how long does the L1 green card take these days (tell me in stages).

It depends on the type of L-1. An L-1A does not have to go through the Labor
Certification process, knocking several years off the entire procedure.
In some cases, an L-1B can also bypass the LC process.
When can I transfer jobs?

Once your I-485 has been pending 180 days you can use portability, just like
H-1Bs can. If your I-140 has not been approved at that point it is better to
wait until it has, because if the sponsoring employer withdraws the I-140,
you may be in trouble. Once it has been approved, he can still revoke it,
but that should not have any impact on your GC process.

LC: 1 - 2 years,
I-140: 6 months to a year
I-485: 6 months to 2 years or more.

Processing times vary wildly. I know people who obtained their
employment-based GC in less than a year. Others have been at it for 4 years
and are still waiting.