H1 & L1 B issue Urgent

[Shreehari]

Currently i am in L1 b and my visa expires on Sep 12 2012. I applied for H1 B in April so it is predicted to receive the status by July first or second week with some consultancy. Now my company is forcing me to provide documents for L1 b extension else they want me fly back to india.

Please let me know if i can have two visas and use H1 b from oct 1st. Let me know all the problems.

[SameerH1Bworker]

Even though your H1B approves, you can not start working on H1B from OCT, unless your current H1B petition filed with COS. If petition filed without COS, then you need to leave the country & get H1B stamp & then you can start from 1st OCT 2012.

[NeverStop]

I had a similar case couple of years ago. My L1B visa was expiring by Sep 18th 2008. An employer in US filed H1B with COS. The petition was approved, but request for COS was denied. So, I was asked to go back to India to get H1B stamped to be able to work on H1B.

Of course, I had not gone for H1B. I got a fresh L1B stamped in India and came back to US in Nov 2008. So, the H1B was unused for ever.

If your L1B employer files for an extension, and if the decision does not come before 1st of Oct, my guess is that you can request your H1B employer to file COS(Change of Status) after 1st Oct. But, this will become complex depending on when you get L1B extension decision from USCIS. You will have to think about your status if L1B extension is approved, COS is pending/approved etc. Please talk to an attorney for better clarification.

[kattu786]

I had a similar case couple of years ago. My L1B visa was expiring by Sep 18th 2008. An employer in US filed H1B with COS. The petition was approved, but request for COS was denied. So, I was asked to go back to India to get H1B stamped to be able to work on H1B. Of course, I had not gone for H1B. I got a fresh L1B stamped in India and came back to US in Nov 2008. So, the H1B was unused for ever. If your L1B employer files for an extension, and if the decision does not come before 1st of Oct, my guess is that you can request your H1B employer to file COS(Change of Status) after 1st Oct. But, this will become complex depending on when you get L1B extension decision from USCIS. You will have to think about your status if L1B extension is approved, COS is pending/approved etc. Please talk to an attorney for better clarification.

ShreeHari,

What is your I-94 expiry date ?

In case if your I-94 expiry date is Sep 12 2012 then to stay in US you need to file L1 extn to maintain your status otherwise you have to go back after Sep 12 2012.But keep in mind that if the L1 extn is approved after the H1 approval (which would be 1st Oct) then you will be back on L1 .

There are two options as I see:-

a) File it as CP . Go back to India after 12th and come back after getting the H1 stamp.

b) This is a bit tricky.File for L1 ext , move to your new employer on the H1 approval date and then ask your L1 employer to revoke the extension.Be sure that once your H1 is approved you join your H1 employer as per the start date.