H1B max out is considered as 6yrs or 72months

[sanny03]

I've received my first H1B on 2016 lottery and came to US on Nov'16. Last year I received my second term of three year extension which is valid till June'22. Based on my US stay by June'22 it will be around 66 months (unless I leave US for any vacation) since first time entry to US.

I'm planning to change my employer who would initiate GC after 6 months and would take 6-9months to file PERM which would probably roll over to Oct'21. Per 7th year extension rule PERM should be filed before 365 days of max out date but considering June'22 expiry (visa/I94) I would have around 9 months. In that case will I be able to apply for a 7th year extension on this PERM filing or I have to leave the country by before June'22? Will the max out date be considered as June'22 or it will count another 6 months as I stayed 66 months in total within US.

[Zodiac System]

Currently you are in good shape.  Find a new employer immediately who is willing to start your PERM/GC process.  Once you have your I-140 you will be able to apply for an extension of 3 years after June 22.

Lets see what other experts suggest.

 

Edited September 23, 2020 by Zodiac System

[Mav777]

You don’t have to apply 365 days before max out to be eligible for 7th year extension. The rule is if you perm is applied 365 days before final year h1b expiry then in the event the perm is not approved by the h1b expiry date, you can apply for a 1 year extension based on pending perm.

if the perm gets approved and then the i140 gets approved prior to the expiry you can apply for a regular 3 year extension. So best case scenario for you is that your perm and i 140(filed in premium) gets approved in the 9 months that you may have.

but you can’t plan for the best case scenario. The perm can get audited and take much longer to get approved. I would recommend that between now and June 2022, take vacations out of the country to make up the 3 months (or more as needed) so that you can recapture that time and extend your h1b such that there are 365 days between when your perm is applied and the new h1b expiry. You have sufficient time between now and june 2022 to go on multiple vacations to make up the gap