H1B expired, extension filed, going on vacation

[vivekj]

My h1b visa and the petition expired on Jan 8th. Extension was filed in Nov 2011. I need to go to India because of a family emergency. I know i cannot reenter US without extension approval notice and a new visa stamp. My question is that if i leave US before my extension is approve, will my extension application be abandoned or is it safe to leave US at this time?

Thanks,

Vivek

[Chitown01]

If you travel outside while petition is pending, you extension of stay is considered abandoned....i.e. they will approve the I-129 petition with Consular Processing....You will need to get stamping done before re-entry.....There is no set time frame on how soon you will hear about approval..... 4-6 months for regular processing.... if you have deadline, you upgrade your petition to premium, you will have update within 2 weeks

[vivekj]

thanks for the reply. since my visa in my passport is expired so in any case i'll go through consular processing to get a new visa stamp. My concern is will there be a break in my h1b status? Because my perm and I 140 is approved, and 6 years of my h1b are also completed. 3 year extension is filed on basis of I140. Will all that be maintained if i leave US before my extension is approved? Later on when extension approval comes (which i am expecting should come anytime soon maybe 2-3 weeks), someone from my office can courier that to me in india and i can get a new visa stamp. Is there a problem with that?

[vivekj]

someone please respond and help. Thanks!