Urgent: H1 Petition query

[Nihar2610]

Hi,
I have H1 petition approved till 30Sept2012 as its expiry date. but visa is not stamped as of today(31Aug2012).
1) Now if company thinks of doing H1 visa stamping, is it possible ?
Can this be possible since I have less than a month remaining for my H1 petition expiry date.
2) Do I need to extend my petition date, if yes how much time approx takes to get petition extension approval?
(Currently i am in India & this is my first H1B)
3) If this petition gets expired ( after 30Sept 2012) and no H1 visa is stamped, then can some other employer use this petition and file my visa? Can we save time in this process ?

Thanks in advance.

[kabkaba]

Hi,
I have H1 petition approved till 30Sept2012 as its expiry date. but visa is not stamped as of today(31Aug2012).
1) Now if company thinks of doing H1 visa stamping, is it possible ?
Can this be possible since I have less than a month remaining for my H1 petition expiry date.

-- Technically it is possible, but being too close to the expiry date it is advisable to get extended petition approval and apply for Visa using the new petition.

2) Do I need to extend my petition date, if yes how much time approx takes to get petition extension approval?
(Currently i am in India & this is my first H1B)

-- 2 to 3 months regular, 15 days premium. (plus a week or two for processing and LCA)

3) If this petition gets expired ( after 30Sept 2012) and no H1 visa is stamped, then can some other employer use this petition and file my visa? Can we save time in this process ?

-- Any employer can file a cap exempt petition for you until 2015 (6 years from original filing). The process is the same as any other petition.

Thanks in advance.

See above.

[Nihar2610]

If H1 petition expires- CAP exempt

My query is now related to question 3 below .... Reframing the query:
If my petition gets expired (after 30Sept 2012) and no H1 visa is stamped, then if some other employer thinks of filing my visa under cap exempt petition before 2015, then in this process do I need to wait till annual quota opens and wait for new petition approval and then do the stamping once dates for the same are open.
(Generally we apply in March for April quota , petition gets approved in Spetember and stamping dates begin from October.)

So in my scenario, does this consume same time and procedure which is atleast 5-6 month long? I'm confused if 'cap exempt petition' process to get H1 visa is faster or what is different than regular procedure?

Thanks kabkaba for earlier reply.
Thanks in advance.

[kabkaba]

cap-exempt = Not subject to annual cap
'Quota' does not apply to you until 6 years from last filing. Petition can be filed at any time and immediate start date can be requested.

The procedure itself (LCA filing, petition filing with or without premium, petition decision and Visa application at consulate) is the same.