***Urgent **** L1B to H1 COS (Change of Status)

[sandaida]

Hi

I am working for Company A on L1B and it was expired on Aug 09 2010. The company A applied for the L1B extension and it got rejected on Sep 13 2010. I have H1B with another employer B. I am planning to change my status from Company A to B. I am bit confusion mode on below queries.

1) What is the procedure to change the status from L1 to H1.
2) How much time it will take to change the status from L1 to H1.
3) Do I need to wait until COS approval or Can I able to move payroll of company B before applying COS.
4)If my current company accepts H1 from other employer and wants to transfer H1 from B to current company A. Is that possible ?

I have valid I-94 upto Aug 2013.

Could anyone please answer to my above questions.. Its urgent

Thanks in advance

[shervin143]

1) What is the procedure to change the status from L1 to H1.
>>> Your H1B employer will need to apply a COS from L1 to H1B. When that gets approved, you can start working. But since you are out of stagus now, the chances of a successful COS is less. The best option is to leave the country, get the H1B stamped and return back.

2) How much time it will take to change the status from L1 to H1.
>>> 2-3 months by normal process and 15 days by premium.

3) Do I need to wait until COS approval or Can I able to move payroll of company B before applying COS.
>>> You need to wait for the COS to get approved.

4)If my current company accepts H1 from other employer and wants to transfer H1 from B to current company A. Is that possible ?
>>> Yes. The process is the same. Your current employer will need to file an H1B petition using the existing CAP from the current H1B petition.

I have valid I-94 upto Aug 2013.
>>> If you already have a valid I-94, then why did you apply for extension?

[sandaida]

Hi Shervin

Thanks for your quick response.

I have valid I-94 upto Aug 2013.
>>> If you already have a valid I-94, then why did you apply for extension?

As per company A policies, they apply for visa extension before one week of visa expiry date irrespective of I-94 date. My L1B extension expired on Aug 9 2010 and they applied for extension 10 days before to expiry date, unfortunately it got rejected today.

1) You said that I am out of status, but still I am having valid I-94, How am I on Out of Status mode ?

2) If I apply COS under normal , you said that it would take 2-3 months time that means I should not work during these days under H1B employer payroll ?.

3) Is it legal to stay in US until we get approved COS. ?

4) You mentioned "The best option is to leave the country, get the H1B stamped and return back."
I am not sure that H1B get stamped If I go out of county. I am hearing that most rejections now a days. I am thinking that it is risky to take that step.

Could you please respond to my questions as above.

[shervin143]

Extension of status need to be filed only when the current I-94 is about to expire. Extension of status can be filed only 6 months in advance of the current I-94 expiry date. I don't know why you company need to file the extension based on the visa expiry date. Visa is just an entry document to U.S. Once you are inside the country, visa expiry date means nothing. What was reason specified for rejection?

Consult a good immigration attorney.

[sandaida]

USCIS updated the status today in web. They mentioned that it(denial notice document) will take 15 days to reach company A (petitioner). We will come to know the rejection reason once we received the denial notice from USCIS.

Could you please answer to below questions that I asked in my last post.

1) If I apply COS under normal , you said that it would take 2-3 months time that means I should not work during these days under H1B employer payroll ?.

2) Is it legal to stay in US until we get approved COS. ?

[shervin143]

1) If I apply COS under normal , you said that it would take 2-3 months time that means I should not work during these days under H1B employer payroll ?.
>>> Your status need to be changed from L1 to H1B to work under the H1B status. Your cannot be employed under H1B until the COS gets approved.

2) Is it legal to stay in US until we get approved COS. ?
>>> No. Under what status are you planning to stay in the country until the COS gets approved? You need a valid status to stay in the country. Just having an I-94 alone doesn't give you the status. You need to be working and getting paid to maintain the status.

[sandaida]

Hi Shervin,

I checked with my employer, they applied H1 with change of status and it got approved and valid from Oct 2008 to Aug 2011. That means I am H1B status now. I did not know about this and worked during 2 years 6 months on L1B with other company.

My question is:

Is it still we need to apply COS ?, or Can I start working on H1B without applying COS ?

[shervin143]

Did you ever go out of the country and return back in L1 visa? If yes, then your status would have changed to L1. If not, you are in trouble and you should consult a good immigration attorney, since your employment with the L1 employer is illegal after the COS to H1B and you are now out of status on H1B. This could also be the reason why your L1 extension got rejected.

Hi Shervin,

I checked with my employer, they applied H1 with change of status and it got approved and valid from Oct 2008 to Aug 2011. That means I am H1B status now. I did not know about this and worked during 2 years 6 months on L1B with other company.

My question is:

Is it still we need to apply COS ?, or Can I start working on H1B without applying COS ?