Urgent ***** I-94 expired and H1 B not approved with COS L1 to H1

[nareshjangde]

Hi,

Please see my case below

I was on L1b with XYZ employer and my visa and I-94 expired on 4-Sep-2011. Before expiry of I-94 my same employer XYZ filed H1B with COS (from L1 to H1) but I received receipt notice of H1 on

15-Sep-2011.....and now I got to know that i should not be working till H1 petition aproved.

even My employer did not informed me about this and i was working from 5 th Sep to till now.

even my employer generated pay stub for last two months.

Now my employer upgrade my H1B to premium.

Now my questions.

1> what are the chances to get H1B approved.

2> what is H1 approved then is this create any problem in near future

3> what is H1B reject , any way i need to lear country ASAP but at Port of entry / Airport is there any problem as my I-94 was already expired.

Please help ASAP... i m very tense.........now...

[livliv]

As change of status was received by USCIS after your I-94 expiry, you are illegal and the work performed was furthermore illegal. It is highly unlikely that H1 will be approved with change of status. It may get approved without change of status. You have to leave the US asap and wait for H1 approval. After approval, get an H1 Visa and travel to US.

[Attorney_23]

Just to clarify, you say you received your receipt notice on 15-Sep. Did you mean to say the receipt date is 15-Sep? Or, was the case timely filed, but you simply did not receive the notice until 15-Sep?

In any case, a foreign national in L1B status may remain in the U.S. in a period of authorized stay while a timely filed petition to change status is pending. However, after the foreign national's I-94 expires, he/she may generally not continue to work.

It is possible USCIS will approve your petition to change status, as they may not notice your period of unauthorized work. However, even if the COS is approved, you may still experience problems related to this in the future.

I recommend you consult with an experienced immigration attorney to review your situation and advise you on how best to proceed. Moreover, you should contact the attorney soon -- the longer you wait to address this issue, the more difficult it may become to rectify.

[nareshjangde]

thanks ...

clarifying your question-

Just to clarify, you say you received your receipt notice on 15-Sep. Did you mean to say the receipt date is 15-Sep? Or, was the case timely filed, but you simply did not receive the notice until 15-Sep?

Ans - Yes we filed on timely. we filed H1 on 22 Aug-11 but i received receive data of 15 sep-2011. Please let me know if its create a problem ..............

If COS is approved then what we can do to face problem in near future.......

[livliv]

Unfortunately, USCIS goes by their receipt date. On the receipt notice, they have the following statement 'On Sep xx, 2011, we received your ....'. This date must be before I-94 date to consider the application timely filed. So this could be a problem. There is nothing you can do about it now. But, in the future make sure all extensions are filed well in advance. (At least a month).