Urgent advice needed: visa expiring in sep 2019

[jyoj]

Hi,

I need to visit India as my father is going through a surgery but my visa is expiring in September 2019 and my company will apply for extension.

they have all paperwork needed.

As I wanted to visit urgently do you think Consulate Processing is a good option where I can apply for extension in premium without being in the US?

How long does it take to file under CP?

Also what are the risks when filing in CP?

can you get a RFE in CP?

Does the CP be interviewed in home country or any other neighboring countries of US?

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

[rara5]

Just to clarify -- if you need to go now and assuming you will be able to get back before the H1 expires in September-- why not apply for an extension after you get back? Even if you get back a week before your September expiry, that should give enough time to file the extension paperwork.

If you think you can't return before September then CP makes sense.

Filing for CP is no different than regular H1B extension. It's the same procedure with regards to  filing the H1B extension paperwork (in premium or otherwise) with USCIS. USCIS will still need to approve your petition. So an RFE or any other issues are the same and not any different than if you were applying for an extension of stay while being in the country.

The only difference is USCICS will send you a I797B approval notice instead of a I797A notice. I797B notice doesn't have a I-94 attached to it , which means your petition is approved but not your extension of stay (since you are not in the country) which will need to be approved in the consulate.

So essentially, with regards to the petition approval, it's the same. Only added step is the consulate interview -- which is not a big deal . Ofcourse there is always some inherent risk associated with the consulate interview (just another layer which can lead to delay or denial) but if your case is straightforward it should not be an issue.