Travelling in L1A Visa while having H1B-EB2 processing is in progress

[Ranjan13]

Hi - Currently i am in India after completing 6 years in US(L1B+H1B). I have 2 more years left in my H1B. My employer has started H1B-EB2 processing , but I140 is not yet approved. As it will take another 8-10 months for me to get I140 approved, my employer is planning to send me in L1A visa. My question is,
1) Can I travel to the US with an L1A visa though I still have my H1B-EB2 GC processing in progress? Note that my I-140 is not yet approved.
2) Can I switch back from L1A to H1B after I get my I-140 approved? There is any problem with that ?
3) Can i company can initiate L1A EB1 GC and discontinue H1B -EB2 ? Does it cause any problem ?

Appreciate if you could respond at the earliest. Thanks!!

[scientist2016]

Hi - Currently i am in India after completing 6 years in US(L1B+H1B). I have 2 more years left in my H1B. My employer has started H1B-EB2 processing , but I140 is not yet approved. As it will take another 8-10 months for me to get I140 approved, my employer is planning to send me in L1A visa. My question is,
1) Can I travel to the US with an L1A visa though I still have my H1B-EB2 GC processing in progress? Note that my I-140 is not yet approved.
2) Can I switch back from L1A to H1B after I get my I-140 approved? There is any problem with that ?
3) Can i company can initiate L1A EB1 GC and discontinue H1B -EB2 ? Does it cause any problem ?

Appreciate if you could respond at the earliest. Thanks!!

1) H1B and GC are two completely different things. There is nothing called H1B-EB2 GC. It is just EB2 GC. In otherwords, it does not matter what your status is as far as EB2 is concerned. In-fact you need not be even in the US or working for the employer to file EB2. So, yes, you can travel on L1A.
2) Yes you can, as long as you have a valid H1.
3) You can have any number of GC petitions being processed simultaneously. So, the employer would rather file a EB1 petition besides the EB2 petition. There are no advantages to withdrawing/discontinuing the EB2.

[Ranjan13]

Travelling in L1A Visa while having H1B-EB2 processing is in progress

1) H1B and GC are two completely different things. There is nothing called H1B-EB2 GC. It is just EB2 GC. In otherwords, it does not matter what your status is as far as EB2 is concerned. In-fact you need not be even in the US or working for the employer to file EB2. So, yes, you can travel on L1A.
2) Yes you can, as long as you have a valid H1.
3) You can have any number of GC petitions being processed simultaneously. So, the employer would rather file a EB1 petition besides the EB2 petition. There are no advantages to withdrawing/discontinuing the EB2.

Thank you for your response.
I have a followup question with respect to second question as below.
" 2) Yes you can, as long as you have a valid H1." --> a)Can you please explain on this H1 validity ? I came back on Feb 2017 and I have 2 more years left in H1B, which is considered valid only for next 6 years ?
b) Also approved I140 is useful only if i have valid H1?
c) There is any law that i have to switch to EB2 from L1A within specific timeframe ?
d) EB2 filing says i am a tech lead with future architect and L1A says i am a multinational manager by the same employer..so that is not an issue ?
Appreciate your inputs.

[scientist2016]

Thank you for your response.
I have a followup question with respect to second question as below.
" 2) Yes you can, as long as you have a valid H1." --> a)Can you please explain on this H1 validity ? I came back on Feb 2017 and I have 2 more years left in H1B, which is considered valid only for next 6 years ?
b) Also approved I140 is useful only if i have valid H1?
c) There is any law that i have to switch to EB2 from L1A within specific timeframe ?
d) EB2 filing says i am a tech lead with future architect and L1A says i am a multinational manager by the same employer..so that is not an issue ?
Appreciate your inputs.

In order to switch to H1, you need to have a valid H1 petition in your name. If you have 2 more yrs. on H1, you should be fine.
If you have an approved I140, and your PD is not current, you can apply for an extension of your current status to continue working. This is possible only in the case of H1 and not in the case of L1. Hence, people from India/China who have a long wait time and applying in the EB2/EB3 categories switch to H1 so as to be able to get extensions and wait until their AOS.
EB2 is not a status/visa category. So you cannot "switch" to EB2. It is merely a category of employment based GC petitions. As such just having an I140 filed/approved does not confer you any status.
Should not be an issue, since they are two different applications. Your company can argue: Your skill set has changed, and hence you have been moved from a tech lead to a manager. It can also argue: There are two different positions available, and you qualify for both.

[Ranjan13]

In order to switch to H1, you need to have a valid H1 petition in your name. If you have 2 more yrs. on H1, you should be fine.
If you have an approved I140, and your PD is not current, you can apply for an extension of your current status to continue working. This is possible only in the case of H1 and not in the case of L1. Hence, people from India/China who have a long wait time and applying in the EB2/EB3 categories switch to H1 so as to be able to get extensions and wait until their AOS.
EB2 is not a status/visa category. So you cannot "switch" to EB2. It is merely a category of employment based GC petitions. As such just having an I140 filed/approved does not confer you any status.
Should not be an issue, since they are two different applications. Your company can argue: Your skill set has changed, and hence you have been moved from a tech lead to a manager. It can also argue: There are two different positions available, and you qualify for both.

Thanks a lot for your response. While doing EB2 Perm applications, we are confirming few roles performed within specific year, for example Jan 2017 to Jan 2018 i was a technical architect. But while filing L1A, we should not give that i was Project Manager during same time period.. Correct ?
Also one more question on H1B petition validity. My petition got expired though i have two more years in my H1B quota. In that case a new petition has to be filed or extension of my petition is enough ? If it is done by a different company than my current company,will it be different process ? Request you to please let me know. Appreciate your inputs.. Thanks

[scientist2016]

Thanks a lot for your response. While doing EB2 Perm applications, we are confirming few roles performed within specific year, for example Jan 2017 to Jan 2018 i was a technical architect. But while filing L1A, we should not give that i was Project Manager during same time period.. Correct ?
Also one more question on H1B petition validity. My petition got expired though i have two more years in my H1B quota. In that case a new petition has to be filed or extension of my petition is enough ? If it is done by a different company than my current company,will it be different process ? Request you to please let me know. Appreciate your inputs.. Thanks

Since you have 2 yrs. left on your H1, either the current employer or any other employer can file for a new cap-exempt petition, which means you do not need to go through the lottery.

[Ranjan13]

Since you have 2 yrs. left on your H1, either the current employer or any other employer can file for a new cap-exempt petition, which means you do not need to go through the lottery.

Ok thank you.. Can you please let me know answer for my first question as well ? i.e. While doing EB2 Perm applications, we are confirming few roles performed within specific year, for example Jan 2017 to Jan 2018 i was a technical architect. But while filing L1A, we should not give that i was Project Manager during same time period.. Correct ? Or is it ok as my role will be project manager only for my employees and in EB2 i will be working as a technical architect for customer ? Please advise on giving two different roles in same time period. Incase response cannot be given here, please let me know.. i will share my email id to get response offline. Appreciate if you could help...