PERM Filed 6 months before H1B Max out. CHANCES & OPTIONS H1B Extension

[mohitw]

My situation is, I have spend 5 years and 7 Month including vacations on H1B in USA and I back to India Jan 2019. My petition is expired at Mar 2019. My PERM filed Nov 2018 but last month it gose in Audit.  Please help me on below question and suggest option how I can keep status on H1B.

If my PERM will approve in coming month (mostly in Nov 2019) and apply for I -140. Once I-140 approve, can I apply for extension on old petition as my petition is already expired. 

As I have left 5 month to complete the 6 years criteria. We can renew your petition for 5 month only, so till how much year I renew it? Do we have duration constraint to renew petition from India?

[pontevecchio]

1. Yes

2. Potentially 3 years.

[rara5]

Not sure if I understand correctly, but you left the country 5 months before your H1B expiry? Not sure why, you could have used up the full duration. Technically I think you can apply for a 5-month extension to capture the unused H1b time but not sure what the chances of approval will be.

Once I-40 is approved, the company can apply for a 3-year extension even when you are outside the country and your old H1b is expired. Once approved you can come back.