L1 to H1 COS while L1 travel is short and on per diem

[venkat557]

Hi,

I work for company A, and employed full time in India.

Right now I came to US to another sub/main branch on my L1B for a 2 month assignment.

Now I have an offer from company B who is willing to file my H1B, and to change my status from L1 to H1.

Now the obvious question that I have is: If my payroll runs in India, am I eligible to change my status to H1B? If it is not directly possible, do we have any alternatives to do this?

Going to India and stamping is one option. But changing the status directly is possible in any way?

Many Thanks in advance,

Venkat.

[Transformer]

Is your current employer A, running your pay stubs in USA or India. Technically he should be running your pay stubs in USA as you are with L1 VISA, irrespective of the duration of stay.

If you don't have pay stubs. most probably your H1B petition may be approved without COS. Consulat an attorney with your specific details.

[venkat557]

My current employer runs my pay stub in India.

And yes, I did consult an attorney after posting here. He asked me to provide an HR letter from the US company stating that I'm currently working here with them on my L1, and my payroll is run in India, and attach the india pay stubs. He says the COS should work in this way. Fingers crossed at this point!

Is it common to get H1 approved, but not COS? Are these two completely different things?

[binu.sale]

any update on this ?

[pontevecchio]

H1 approval is one thing. COS is based on being in valid status here at the time of applying till the H1 with COS is approved. Let me put it this way. If your H1 petition is approved your COS will be approved as long as you are here throughout the process. As you have found out as long as Tax implications are satisfied a person does not need tpo be paid the H1 way when on L1.