15 Months remaining in H1B to max out and GC not filed

[sachidananda]

Hi,

My H1B is valid till 09/30/2020 and I am going to complete 6 years of H1b with this. My employer refused to process my GC. I am curious about the other options.

1. If I join any fulltime course in USA, will I get a student visa for the same? After completing the course, can I move to H1B again without leaving the country for 1 year?

2. I tried Canada PR, but my CRS score is 397 so not getting any PNP or PR through express entry.

3. By any chance, if I join a new company in USA in next 2 months assuming the new employer is going to process GC immediately. What are the chances of getting i140 approved within 1 year in the current situation?

Thanks,

Sachi

 

 

 

[rara5]

You could file for a COS to a F1 but remember getting admission and I-20 from a legitimate university is not a quick process. Additionally, a COS application can't be filed in premium so you would have to wait 5-6 months (or whatever the current processing times are) to get a decision.  You of course have sufficient time left if you are targeting next fall for admissions.

The only way to reset the H1B clock is to be physically out of the country for an year. Just changing the status won't get you another 6 years.

Your best bet is to find a company that is willing to sponsor a GC. Filing for PERM will likely take upto 6-7 months. Once filed, PERM approval will take another 4-5 months (or whatever the current PERM processing times are - - check the icert website) if not in an audit. If the PERM gets stuck in an audit then it will take much longer (again check icert for wait times).

So essentially I think the I-140 could possibly be approved by September 2020 if 1) the company files for PERM relatively quickly 2) PERM is not audited 3) I-140 is filed in premium.

If your PERM is audited, it won't very likely be approved by 09/30/2020 and you will have to leave the country before then and wait outside the country till the PERM is pending for 365-days or till PERM gets approved, then I-40 gets approved, to apply for a 1-year extension (based on pending PERM) or a 3-year extension (based on approved I-140). Once the extension is approved and vis stamped you can come back.

Edited July 1, 2019 by rara5