7th year H1B extension after i140 approval

[Raanchi]

My 6 years in H1B ends on February 15 2019. My PERM is approved and waiting to get the hard copy. My employer said that i-140 will be applied in premium. Yesterday USCIS announced that it is going to suspend the premium processing for most of the H1B cases starting from September 11 2018 and this suspension is expected to last till February 19 2019. 

1. In this case after i-140 approval, can the H1B extension applied in premium? Is the suspension applicable for this?

2. If my H1B extension is applied in normal process after the i-140 approval, can I be eligible to stay for a max of 240 days till i get a update on my case?

[Saketkumar1980]

Premium Processing is only being suspended for cases where there is a change in employment.  For an extension like yours, you can still file premium.

Even if you couldn’t use Premium you’d still be ok.  As long as you file before the expiration of your current visa your work authorization would be extended for 280 days automatically while we wait for the new one to be approved.

[care_candidate]

I-140 is normally takes less than 4 months. Do apply as quick as possible.