Eligibility for H1B after staying 7 Years on L1B

[kg_prince]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please kindly respond on the below query.

I have stayed in USA on L1B for 7 years continously from Sep-2005 till Sep-2012 from X Company.I understood that I have to stay outside USA for 1 year which is Sep-2013.So After Sep-2013,I am eligible to enter USA again either on L1 or H1 Visa.below is the clarification needed from Murthy attorney on my current status.

Question-1 :

Currently I am residing in India as I have to stay outside USA for 1 year(till Sep-2013).

Can i apply for H1B Quota from X-Employer for FY-2014 because the start date for FY-2014 is however Oct-2013 which is beyond Sep-2013.Am I eligible for FY-2013.Please Kindly advise.

Question-2

Since L1 can be applied anytime,I understood that i will be eligible to apply for Fresh L1 Visa only after Sep-2013.Please double confirm,.

[JoeF]

On L1B, you could only stay for 5 years. The L1A has a 7-year limit

An H1 can only be filed once the person has been outside the US for one year. For a new L1, you have to have worked for the company abroad for at least a year in the last 3 years, so it is obvious that a new L1 can also only be filed once you have been abroad for a year.

And you need to double-check your time in the US. You may have been out of status, which would complicate things enormously.

Get a lawyer involved.

[kg_prince]

dear JoeF,

Thanks for your response.I stayed in USA for 7 Years on L1A only.Sorry for using the word L1B instead of L1A.Also I am currently in India which is outside USA.

As per you "An H1 can only be filed once the person has been outside the US for one year".So in my case,I cannot apply till Sep-2013 and since the quota might already got over by that time for FY 2014,I will be eligible only for FY-2015 which means i can apply only in April-2014? Is my understanding correct ? Please kindly confirm.

Also for FY-2014,the start date is however Oct-2014 which will be more than year staying out of USA.why am not eligible for applying FY-2014.Can you please give me more light on this ?

Once again thanks for your support and clarifications.

[JoeF]

dear JoeF,

Thanks for your response.I stayed in USA for 7 Years on L1A only.Sorry for using the word L1B instead of L1A.

Thanks for the clarification.

As per you "An H1 can only be filed once the person has been outside the US for one year".So in my case,I cannot apply till Sep-2013 and since the quota might already got over by that time for FY 2014,I will be eligible only for FY-2015 which means i can apply only in April-2014? Is my understanding correct ? Please kindly confirm.

Yes, that's correct.

Also for FY-2014,the start date is however Oct-2014 which will be more than year staying out of USA.why am not eligible for applying FY-2014.Can you please give me more light on this ?

The H1 has to be approvable at the time filed, even if the start date is 6 months later.

An H1 filed for you in April 2013 can not be approved since you haven't been outside the US for a year at the time of application filing in April 2013.

[kg_prince]

thanks joef