H1 Stamping required. Can there be a problem in getting the Visa stampped.

[shobhit.shyam]

Hi All,
My scenario is that i got my L1 to H1 conversion done last year in August. My H1 was active from 1st Oct 2011 till Sep 30th 2012. I did travel to india on my last vacation(Jan 2012) and at that time i had both L1 (active till May27th 2012) and i797 for H1. However in travelled on my L1 and did not get my H1 stamped. Now when i went for my H1 extension my company told that my H1 extension cannot be done and i need to get my H1 stampped first. (They also told me that from May27th 2012 till July14th i was on illegal status). Now i came back from US to India and i am going for H1 stampping. Just wanted to know whether i will face some problem during my stampping and what should i tell in my justification in DS-160 form where it says that did u stay illegally anytime in USA ?
Please someone help me as i am really stressed out because of this.

Thanks
Shobhit

[rvisak]

Hi All,
My scenario is that i got my L1 to H1 conversion done last year in August. My H1 was active from 1st Oct 2011 till Sep 30th 2012. I did travel to india on my last vacation(Jan 2012) and at that time i had both L1 (active till May27th 2012) and i797 for H1. However in travelled on my L1 and did not get my H1 stamped. Now when i went for my H1 extension my company told that my H1 extension cannot be done and i need to get my H1 stampped first. (They also told me that from May27th 2012 till July14th i was on illegal status). Now i came back from US to India and i am going for H1 stampping. Just wanted to know whether i will face some problem during my stampping and what should i tell in my justification in DS-160 form where it says that did u stay illegally anytime in USA ?
Please someone help me as i am really stressed out because of this.

Thanks
Shobhit

When you came back from your vacation did you re-enter in L1 ? Till when was the I-94 issued to you? Was your L1 maxing out on May 27, 2012 ?

[shervin143]

Well, illegal stay can cause issues. It totally depends on the VO on how they will treat this. While filling DS160 you will have to mention 'YES' to the question 'Have you ever violated your status'. If you answer NO and if they figure out, it will lead to bigger issues. Try to explain the scenario that you have described below to the VO, if asked. How did you stay beyond the I-94 expiry date without filing the extension? When you entered U.S last, they would have issued you a I-94 and don't you know that is when your status will expire and you will need to file the extension prior to that?

Hi All,
My scenario is that i got my L1 to H1 conversion done last year in August. My H1 was active from 1st Oct 2011 till Sep 30th 2012. I did travel to india on my last vacation(Jan 2012) and at that time i had both L1 (active till May27th 2012) and i797 for H1. However in travelled on my L1 and did not get my H1 stamped. Now when i went for my H1 extension my company told that my H1 extension cannot be done and i need to get my H1 stampped first. (They also told me that from May27th 2012 till July14th i was on illegal status). Now i came back from US to India and i am going for H1 stampping. Just wanted to know whether i will face some problem during my stampping and what should i tell in my justification in DS-160 form where it says that did u stay illegally anytime in USA ?
Please someone help me as i am really stressed out because of this.

Thanks
Shobhit

[shobhit.shyam]

When you came back from your vacation did you re-enter in L1 ? Till when was the I-94 issued to you? Was your L1 maxing out on May 27, 2012 ?

Yes when i came back from L1 i did re-enter on L1. The I-94 was issued to me at port of entry till May 27th 2012. No my L1 was not maxing out on May 27th 2012 i still had 1 more year on L1.

[shobhit.shyam]

Well, illegal stay can cause issues. It totally depends on the VO on how they will treat this. While filling DS160 you will have to mention 'YES' to the question 'Have you ever violated your status'. If you answer NO and if they figure out, it will lead to bigger issues. Try to explain the scenario that you have described below to the VO, if asked. How did you stay beyond the I-94 expiry date without filing the extension? When you entered U.S last, they would have issued you a I-94 and don't you know that is when your status will expire and you will need to file the extension prior to that?

I had my L1 to H1 conversion done in last august (2011), when i last entered US they gave me an i94 till May 27th 2012 based on my L1 entry, however i also had an I94 on my I797 (converted H1) which is valid till Sep 2012. (Ideally i should have got that stamped during my last visit.)

[shervin143]

Didn't you surrend your H1B I-94 when you left U.S? Weren't you suppose to return all the I-94s when you leave the country? Your H1B I-94 validity is irrelavant once you entered U.S in L1 visa. The last received I-94 will be the one that will be active. Search and read about the last action rule.

I had my L1 to H1 conversion done in last august (2011), when i last entered US they gave me an i94 till May 27th 2012 based on my L1 entry, however i also had an I94 on my I797 (converted H1) which is valid till Sep 2012. (Ideally i should have got that stamped during my last visit.)