H1B extension

[Wait4]

Hi there,

Thank you for taking time to read this post and helping with your answers. I really appreciate it.

I have been with my company for almost 6 years on an H1-B visa. My current H1-B visa expires mid-December 2018.My employer submitted an LCA 2 months ago and it got approved and then they submitted a new I-129 for an extension of the H1B this month.I have an approved I-140 but priority date is a few years away. According to the current H1-B processing times, I don't think my new I129 petition will be approved before mid-December.My question is, Will I be on legal status after mid December even if I don't receive official approval from USCIS? Can I stay and continue to work? Is it a good idea to expedite the process using premium processing? Will it make a difference or should I just wait under normal processing time?

[pontevecchio]

Based on a timely filed extension, you are legal to stay up to 240 days after current petition expiry. If PP is an option for you, do it after duscussing the issue with your employer.

[Wait4]

Thank you for your reply.I guess when you said "a timely filed extension", you meant a new petition submitted before my current one expires, correct?

I discussed premium processing with my employer but they were advised to not go for premium processing by attorney.Not sure if it's because of the extra cost or if premium processing is unavailable in my case.But I think there was a post here somewhere that said there were exceptions to the suspension of premium processing for certain cases and I think extensions for the same employer would be one of them. 

[pontevecchio]

Then you should wait for approval. Good luck.