H1B Approved. What to do with L2 extension?

[mail2pgs]

Hi
I was working on on L2 Visa with EAD and it expired on Jan 1.My husband's company already applied for L1 and L2 extension but decision is still pending. I also applied for the renewal of my EAD that is also under process .

My employer applied H1B for me and now I got my new H1B for 3 years and my company is planning to apply green card for me also.

So my question is what I need to do with my current L2 visa extension? I heard from some people that as per "Last action rule" if my L2 visa approved later I will be in L2 status agin. But I prefer H1B status for me.

I have discussed this with two immigration attorneys both have different opinions.
One person told me that I can withdraw my L2 visa extension right now. So that I can remain in H1B status.

second person is saying I need not worry about this. If I am getting L2 Visa extension, then I can decide which one to choose. So no need of withdrawing L2 right now.

So I am really confused. Please advise me which option I need to choose.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
PGS

[shervin143]

So my question is what I need to do with my current L2 visa extension? I heard from some people that as per "Last action rule" if my L2 visa approved later I will be in L2 status agin.
>>> That is true.

I have discussed this with two immigration attorneys both have different opinions.
One person told me that I can withdraw my L2 visa extension right now. So that I can remain in H1B status.
>>> You can do that. If your application has not yet taken for processing, you will be able to withdraw it successfully.

second person is saying I need not worry about this. If I am getting L2 Visa extension, then I can decide which one to choose. So no need of withdrawing L2 right now.
>>> That is correct in a way. If your L2 gets approved, you will have both H1B and L2 approvals and you can decide which status you would like to maintain. However, to work in H1B status, you will either need to go out of the country and return back on H1B visa or you will need to file an H1B amendment to change the status back to H1B from L2. Unless you do that you will be in L2 once your L2 gets approved .

[mail2pgs]

Hi Shervin
Thanks for your reply.

Can you please clarify some points?

So my question is what I need to do with my current L2 visa extension? I heard from some people that as per "Last action rule" if my L2 visa approved later I will be in L2 status agin.
>>> That is true.

I already started working based on the H1B status since its start date was Jan 02. So if I got L2 approved do I need to stop working?( because L2 with EAD is eligible for working and it will take some more time to get EAD after L2 approval. ) Also my employer is planning to process green card immediatly based on my H1B. So is there any problem for Green card processing if my status changes to L2 for a short time? because I am planning to apply COS from L2 to H1B after L2 approval. Do I need to wait for some time to finalize the h1B status (after COS)and then apply green card?


One person told me that I can withdraw my L2 visa extension right now. So that I can remain in H1B status.
>>> You can do that. If your application has not yet taken for processing, you will be able to withdraw it successfully.

I have checked my current L2 visa status in USCIS. it is "Initial review". That means USCIS already taken my L2 for processing correct? So I can't be able to withdraw it successfully now. correct?


second person is saying I need not worry about this. If I am getting L2 Visa extension, then I can decide which one to choose. So no need of withdrawing L2 right now.
>>> That is correct in a way. If your L2 gets approved, you will have both H1B and L2 approvals and you can decide which status you would like to maintain. However, to work in H1B status, you will either need to go out of the country and return back on H1B visa or you will need to file an H1B amendment to change the status back to H1B from L2. Unless you do that you will be in L2 once your L2 gets approved .

Going out of the country means, is that Ok to go to Canada and return back on H1B? Or I need to return back to India (home country) and go to Consulate for H1B visa stamping?

Could you please explain what is "file an H1B amendment to change the status back to h1B from L2" ? Is this like a new H1B process? Does my company need to pay the H1B fees for this also? What is the fees for this process?How long it will take to get a decision? Is Quota applicable for the this?

It would be great if you can provide some answers. I really appreciate your help.

Thanks
PGS

[shervin143]

I already started working based on the H1B status since its start date was Jan 02. So if I got L2 approved do I need to stop working?( because L2 with EAD is eligible for working and it will take some more time to get EAD after L2 approval. )
>>> If your L2 and EAD gets approved at the same time, then yu can continue to work on L2 EAD. If not, you should quit working until the EAD gets approved or you can leave the country and return back in H1B visa and start working again.

Also my employer is planning to process green card immediatly based on my H1B. So is there any problem for Green card processing if my status changes to L2 for a short time? because I am planning to apply COS from L2 to H1B after L2 approval. Do I need to wait for some time to finalize the h1B status (after COS)and then apply green card?
>>> GC is for future employment. Whether yo work in H1B or L2 EAD doesn't have any impact on your GC process.

I have checked my current L2 visa status in USCIS. it is "Initial review". That means USCIS already taken my L2 for processing correct? So I can't be able to withdraw it successfully now. correct?
>>> You cannot rely on the USCIS website. However, initial review is the status that they show after receiving your documents until an actual decision is made. You can still try to revoke your petition if you like. If it doesn't work, you are not going to loose anything.

Going out of the country means, is that Ok to go to Canada and return back on H1B? Or I need to return back to India (home country) and go to Consulate for H1B visa stamping?
>>> If this is your first time H1B stamping and if you did not do you masters in U.S, then you will need to go back to your home country.
https://www.immihelp.com/usa-visas/v...gcanadamexico/

Could you please explain what is "file an H1B amendment to change the status back to h1B from L2" ? Is this like a new H1B process? Does my company need to pay the H1B fees for this also? What is the fees for this process?How long it will take to get a decision? Is Quota applicable for the this?
>>> Amendment can take anywhere between 2-3 months by normal process and 15 days by premium. It doesn't fall a new CAP. It is more like applying a COS back from L2 to H1B. The fees will be the same whatever your employer paid for your COS from L2 to H1B now.
https://www.immihelp.com/h1b-petition-amendment/

[mail2pgs]

Hi Shervin
Thanks for your helping answers.

I also agree with your suggestion,

>>> You cannot rely on the USCIS website. However, initial review is the status that they show after receiving your documents until an actual decision is made. You can still try to revoke your petition if you like. If it doesn't work, you are not going to loose anything.

I am also thinking in the same way, I can just have a try for revoking the L2.

Could you please provide some clarification ?

1)My husband's company applied for his L1B Blanket petition and my L2 extension together. So do we need to ask my husband's company to revoke my L2 Visa? Is it affect his L1B extension? because my husband wants to continue working on his L1 employer.
2)His company provided the receipt number of my L2 extn. So Can we revoke the L2 by ourselves?
3) If so how can I revoke my L2? Can we do it by online? Or we need to apply manually by submitting any application?
4)Can you please provide any link or helping information regarding the revoking of L2?

Thanks
PGS

[mail2pgs]

Hi Shervin
Thanks for your helping answers.

I agree with your suggestion

>>> You cannot rely on the USCIS website. However, initial review is the status that they show after receiving your documents until an actual decision is made. You can still try to revoke your petition if you like. If it doesn't work, you are not going to loose anything.

I am also thinking in the same way, I can just have a try for revoking the L2.

Could you please provide some clarification regarding these?

1)My husband's company applied for his L1B Blanket petition and my L2 extension together. So do we need to ask my husband's company to revoke my L2 Visa? Is it affect his L1B extension? because my husband wants to continue working on his L1 employer.
2)His company provided the receipt number of my L2 extn. So Can we revoke the L2 by ourselves?
3) If so how can I revoke my L2? Can we do it by online? Or we need to apply manually by submitting any application to USCIS?
4)Can you please provide any link or helping information regarding the revoking of L2?

Thanks
PGS

[shervin143]

L2 petition can be revoked by the individual since it is not associated with any employer. You can write letter to USCIS with your receipt number from the L2 extension application. Let them know that you would like to withdraw your I-539 Extension for L2 since you have alreadt receive the H1B approval and you are already working on H1B and you no longer want to extend the L2 status.

[mail2pgs]

Thanks Shervin for providing helpful answers.
Warm Regards
PGS

[nnl]

Hi I am also in the same issue. Could you please suggest me what you did in your case?? Now if they approve L2 , is my status override to L2??

in my H1b I94 status changed from L2 to H1b. If L2 approval came, then I94 will change from H1b to L2??



Thank you

[Punitha04]

Hi, I was in same situation.Please share your experience.What you did to retain h1.