Tweet
I came here on LiB visa in 2009. Stayed here for 9 months and went back to India. Then I came back after three months and stayed here till my visa expired which was 2years. I filed extention which got rejected so I had to go back about after 7 months of my visa expiration date.I applied a fresh H1B petition and came back in US after 11 months from the date I left US ( Visa expiration date+7 months). So my question is my 7 year cap reset as i have stayed 11 months + 3months( in between) as it is more than 12 months? Will I be given the time recapture option so recapture 1.2 years? Can I applu GC to get H1 extended? Thanks for the reply in advance
-
-
Prima facie it appears you have never stayed out of US for 1 Full year at a stretch. Hence in most likelihood your clock could not have got reset. There is nothing like 7 Years cap. L1+H1 can at most be for 6 Year. You can certainly try to recapture the time remaining out of these 6 Years. For that you can sit down with your attorney with your passport with entry and exit records and determine how long physically you have spent in US. 6 Years - All this time can be recaptured.Originally posted by neha2508 View Post
As far as GC processing is concerned, If your PERM is filed 365 days before your 6th Year physical stay completion you can possibly get 1 Year extension beyond the 6 Year completion. If I140 has been approved before your 6 Year completion you can possible get 3 Years H1 extension beyond your 6 Years physical stay.
This is my opinion not legal advice. -
I want to explain you the exact scenario so that i can get an exact view on this:
My question is:
I came to US on L1B visa through my company A in year 2008 and it got expired in June 2011. I stayed in US for a total period of 2.9 yrs on L1B. Then my company A filed my L1B extension and it got rejected in Dec 2011 and I stayed in US till Feb 2012 on B2 visa due to some medical reasons. I went back to india in Feb2012 and my company A applied H1B for my in April2012.
I got the H1B approved in Oct2012 for 2.5 yrs till May2015 and again i came to US in Jan 2013.
So in that case the total years is 6.2 if i count my stay from L1B -> B2 -> H1B.
1. Will the period i spent on B2 (tourist visa) spent after L1B extension rejected, will also be counted for a total of H1B (max 6 yrs)?
2. If B2 time period of 2 months is not counted , then should i be eligible for H1B extension in May2015?Comment
-
Which date did you enter US in 2008 on L1? On what visa status were you from June 2011 till Dec 2011? Did you have any travel time outside during that time? When did your L1 status end and when did your B2 status begin?Originally posted by neha2508 View Post
Its not L1 + 6 Years of H1B. Its total of L1 + H1 which should not exceed 6 Years if you don't spend an entire year outside US.
I dont think you will be eligible for another 1 Year/3 years extension in May 2015 unless GC is filed timely.
From 2008 onwards till May 2015 it seems you would have stayed 3 years 3 Months on L1B (assuming you were on L1B till Dec 2011) and 2 Years 5 Months Years on H1B (Jan 2013 till May 2015). This totals 5 Years 8 Months, you might be able to recapture 4 Months of the entire 6 Years duration.
You might have to initiate GC at least 1 Year before 6 Years completion in order to get the extension beyond the 6th Year physical stay. To be on safe side you need to initiate GC before May 2014 in order to be eligible for extension beyond 2015.
Your case has become quite complex advisable to take your entry and exit records to a decent lawyer and the lawyer can help you in draftign appropriate paperwork to explain to USCIS about your B2 stay and possibility of recapturing the H1 time as well also filing the GC in timely manner.
This is my opinion not legal advice.Comment
-
If you consider my L1B till Dec2011, then i was on B2 for 2 months(Jan2012 - Feb2012) and in india for another 10 months Feb2012 till Dec 2012. So will that be considered a 1 year gap between L1 and H1?Comment
-
But you were not physically present outside US during that 1 year were you? You were physically in US during that 2 Months of B2. One has to be PHYSICALLY out of US for 1 Full year.Originally posted by neha2508 View Post
Also, USCIS considers immediate preceding year not some time which was much before so if you wanted fresh 6 Years H1, you should have stayed outside US from Feb 2012 till Feb 2013 and applied in April 2013 for H1 start date of 01-Oct-2013 then you would have been eligible for fresh 6 Years H1 starting 01-Oct-2013 till 01-Oct-2019.
This is my opinion not legal advice.Comment
Comment