H1 Extension and travel to India

[Shruti1983]

Hi Experts,

My current H1 is expiring in End of September 2012. I have plan to go to India for 2 weeks vacation before that. I just wanted to check.

1.How late can I go for 2 weeks vacation so that my extension may not affect my trip and I may not get any issue on Port Of Entry.

2.How early should I file my extension.

I would appreciate suggestions from expert members.

Regards,

Shruti

[wiweq]

To get the H1b extension approved you need to be present in H1b status. If your H1b is not approved and you left USA, your H1b may be approved but not the extension. This means I797 won't have I94 attached. In this case, you should wait for H1b approval while you are outside of USA. You should use the new I797 and get new I94 at port of entry.

In the case, if you returned back while H1b is still in process you will get the I94 at POE only till the expiry of previous H1b and later on get new I797 with no I94. This will create problem.

Best bet: Ask your employer to do H1b in PP, leave USA after getting approval or make sure its approved during your out of US stay.