H1B 6th year maxing out, transfer to blanket L1?

[Mountain_Seal]

Hello All,

My 6th year of H1B is maxing out in late Oct and my company hasn't filed my PERM yet (estimating to file sometime this week). That leaves me with a slim chance of getting the PERM + I140 approved before my maxout date.

Since my company does blanket L1's, is it possible to go from H1B to L1 (either L1A or L1B) in order to buy time while my PERM/I140 applications are being processed? I had previously read that the 6 year time limit applies to both H1's and L1's, but I'm not sure if BLANKET L1's are any different...or if L1A's allow for 7th year extension?

[JoeF]

The time on H1 and L1 is combined. That is irrespective if the L1 is a blanket L1 or not.

[december2011]

But I heard that L1A gets total 7 years?

[JoeF]

But I heard that L1A gets total 7 years?

So, it would be 1 year for the L1...

And you still would have to qualify for the L1, which includes having worked for the employer abroad for one year in the last three years. Not quite possible if you worked for the employer in the US on H1...