Travel outside US during I140 filing or processing

[rajkmohan]

Hi, Im currently in India. I was working in H1 in US till sep 2014. I came back for a family emergency and Im staying in India till now. My PERM for approved in april and my employer is planning to file my I140 before my perm gets expired. Meanwhile my H1 is also expiring in Dec 31st 2015. Having told my situation here are my open questions?

1) Do I need to be in US for I140 filing and processing? Will i140 be approved without me being in US?
2) If my family situation were not be favorable I would not be travelling back to US within this year. In that case my H1 will get expired. Does the H1 expiry affect the I140 processing?
3) in case if my I140 is approved in next year, Can I travel with the approved I140 and without a valid H1 visa?
4) how long is I140 approval notice valid?
5) in case if my I140 is approved can I file H1 under cap exempt quota and travel back to USA to start my I485 process?

I barely need answers for all my queries to plan my travel plans and settle my family situations.

Appreciate your responses at the earliest.

Thanks in advance.

[kabkaba]

Hi, Im currently in India. I was working in H1 in US till sep 2014. I came back for a family emergency and Im staying in India till now. My PERM for approved in april and my employer is planning to file my I140 before my perm gets expired. Meanwhile my H1 is also expiring in Dec 31st 2015. Having told my situation here are my open questions?

1) Do I need to be in US for I140 filing and processing? Will i140 be approved without me being in US? - Both are unrelated.
2) If my family situation were not be favorable I would not be travelling back to US within this year. In that case my H1 will get expired. Does the H1 expiry affect the I140 processing? - No
3) in case if my I140 is approved in next year, Can I travel with the approved I140 and without a valid H1 visa? - No, you will still need valid H1 petition and Visa
4) how long is I140 approval notice valid? - Until it is withdrawn by the employer
5) in case if my I140 is approved can I file H1 under cap exempt quota and travel back to USA to start my I485 process? - Yes, employer can request extensions beyond 6 years based on the approved I-140. If you have not used 6 years, remainder time can be captured irrespective of I-140. I-485 has to do with priority date being current. If you are not in the US when that happens, you can also do consular processing.

I barely need answers for all my queries to plan my travel plans and settle my family situations.

Appreciate your responses at the earliest.

Thanks in advance.

See above.