Can my employer file H1, while I am working on I94 with a lapsed L1B

[rakesh1569]

Hi,
My L1-B is expiring on Aug 31, 2013 but my I94 is valid till 2016. I know that I can work on I94 but can I apply for a fresh H1 next year? My concern is that I will not have a valid VISA at the time of filing H1 applicaion, all I would have is a valid I94. Will it cause any issue for my H1 petition?

[raghvi]

Hi,
My L1-B is expiring on Aug 31, 2013 but my I94 is valid till 2016. I know that I can work on I94 but can I apply for a fresh H1 next year? My concern is that I will not have a valid VISA at the time of filing H1 applicaion, all I would have is a valid I94. Will it cause any issue for my H1 petition?

Yes You Can. Advisable to avoid travel out of US that is, till Oct 2014, when H1, if approved, will be active .

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rakesh1569]

Visiting India after applying Fresh H1-b from US

Hi
Sorry for replying to this thread as I dont see option for creating new-

My Fiance is currently on expired L1-B in US. Her I94 is valid till 2016. I am trying to apply fresh H1-B for her this year (2014). But due to unavoidable circumstances, she has to travel to India in April and will not be able to come back till her H1-B gets approved. Can there be any problem if she stays (works) in India after applying H1-B from US??

[raghvi]

Hi
Sorry for replying to this thread as I dont see option for creating new-

My Fiance is currently on expired L1-B in US. Her I94 is valid till 2016. I am trying to apply fresh H1-B for her this year (2014). But due to unavoidable circumstances, she has to travel to India in April and will not be able to come back till her H1-B gets approved. Can there be any problem if she stays (works) in India after applying H1-B from US??

What she does outside US is hardly immigration services concern, as long as its not illegal. She can certainly work for any employer while outside US. Its a different matter of taxation if her income is still in US. Also, she would need to attend H1 stamping and only after approved H1 stamping would she be able to go to US on H1.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rakesh1569]

Thank you so much. Appreciate your advise.

Now if I go to India in May and we get married there, can I file dependent VISA (H4) for her and bring her to US? Will that impact her H1-B approvals?

[raghvi]

You are confusing and giving one detail at a time, initially you said you were on L1, then you said your fiancee is on L1. Then you said she needs to travel in April, now you saying both of you need to travel and get married....Please try to provide as much detail as possible initially to be able to guide better.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rakesh1569]

Sorry for the confusion. The initial thread was for some other purpose posted month's ago (where I posted on behalf of my fiancee). I didnt want to continue this thread but somehow I did not have option to open new thread. Here is the entire picture -

I have stamped H1-B which is valid till 2016. No problem with me.
My fiancee is on L1-B which is already expired but she has an extended I94 till 2016, which makes here eligible to work, but she can not leave US.
We need to get married around April/May 2014 and before that I want to file a fresh H1-B for her through a consultancy.
H1-B approval takes long time, that is, she may have to wait till October 2014.

--I am wondering if I can file a dependent VISA for her soon after we get married and bring her to US. Will that impact her H1-B approvals?

[raghvi]

Thanks. This puts some clarity to the whole picture.

Your fiancee would have been fine converting to H1 (if everything else goes fine) in Oct 2014, if she had continued to stay till Oct-2014, but travelling in the middle and returning complicates the matter.

While one is in US there are two ways one can file a H1 petition. Consular process and COS (Change Of Status). Consular process would mean that a foreign consulate (generally home country consulate) is informed about your petition and in order to move to H1 one needs to go to the consulate and attend visa stamping interview and after successful interview H1 is stamped in the passport. COS would mean that the person automatically moves from current valid status to H1 from COS effective date (generally 01-Oct-2014).

Now in April 2014 if you apply as consular processing, that would effectively mean that your your fiancee would need to go back to home country when petition is approved, get H1 stamped and return on H1 in order to move to H1.

If you apply as COS (from L1 to H1) in April 2014, as your fiancee is travelling post application, but before approval, her COS would most likely be converted to consular process.

As you see in either case, as and when you two return to US in May 2014 on H1 and H4 respectively, your spouse's H1 petition, if approved, would most likely be approved as consular process somewhere July - Oct time frame. But as your fiance, your spouse at that time, would have entered US on H4 visa, her employer would have to use the consular approved petition and file to convert from consular to COS (H4 to H1 COS). Its at USCIS's discretion if that gets approved. If COS from H4 to H1 approved then all good and she would move to H1 status from COS date, if COS denied ,then only way to move to H1 would be to leave US, get H1 stamping done and return on H1.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rakesh1569]

Thank you so much. Appreciate your advise.