L1A visa stamped till April 2019. But, my company attorney says that I have already maxed out the stay and have to return asap.

[rrrbng]

I have my approval notice valid and L1A visa stamped till Apr 2019, and I made multiple trips to my home country in the year 2018 and had no issues on reentry, any time. Now, my company attorney is saying I have maxed out the US stay in 2017 itself and my VISA validity is by error from USCIS. They are asking me to return immediately and giving me audit as the reason. Are they right?

[pontevecchio]

One cannot second guess the details based on which they asked you to leave. Your question is academic as the company will presumably take its lawyers guidance very seriously.

[JoeF]

You don't give us any information about how long you have been on L1 in the US.

USCIS sometimes makes errors, though. They eventually will find out and a stay past the maximum duration allowed by law will cause lots of problems in the future.

 

[rrrbng]

But, am I at fault here? USCIS gave the approval notice till Apr 2019, Embassy stamped VISA till Apr 19, I made 3 entries  subsequently, and everytime my I94 end date has been Apr 18. So, will I be punishable in this case? If so, to what extent?

To explain further, I stayed with with H1 for about 5 years and then converted to L1 and worked for around 2.5 years. I have spent about 5 years outside of US.

BR

[rrrbng]

Another question on definition of 'overstay' in USCIS terms. My VISA/I94  expiration is till Apr 2019. So, on current date, is this considered as overstay?

BR

[JoeF]

14 hours ago, rrrbng said:

But, am I at fault here? USCIS gave the approval notice till Apr 2019, Embassy stamped VISA till Apr 19, I made 3 entries  subsequently, and everytime my I94 end date has been Apr 18. So, will I be punishable in this case? If so, to what extent?

To explain further, I stayed with with H1 for about 5 years and then converted to L1 and worked for around 2.5 years. I have spent about 5 years outside of US.

BR

Time on H1 and L1 is combined, and can't exceed the maximum allowed in the current state, which for L1A is 7 years.

The clock would only have reset if you had been abroad for at least a year after being on H1 and before the company applying for the L1.

[rrrbng]

In my case, it is like:

In US with H1 - 2 years

Home country  - 5 years

In US with H1 - 3.5 years

Convert to L1, since then in US

Is the clock reset in this case?