L1A Blanket Petition Valid Indefinitely?

[prsshini]

Hi,

I am in US with my L1 A Blanket Petition, which has Expiry Date not mentioned. It only has "Valid Indefinitely"
My Visa Expired on October 2011.
My i94 is valid till October 2014.

If I plan to travel to India, Will I need a new Petition? or do I have to apply for extension?
OR, As it says Valid indefinitely, can I use the same petition to appear for the stamping and come back to US?

I have already completed 4yrs 9 months in L1A. If I had to apply for new/extension petition, will it be approved for 2 yrs? or 3 yrs? or even can I apply for L1A again?

Please clarify.

[kabkaba]

You can apply for your Visa using the same petition. It has no expiry date. The time you can stay in the US in L1A status is limited to 7 years. It is your responsibility to ensure that you don't exceed 7 years irrespective of petition, Visa or I-94 expiry.

[prsshini]

is that true that any L1A Blanket is valid indefinitely? some of my peers have applied for L1A extension.. but not sure if its ind or blanket.

[raghvi]

is that true that any L1A Blanket is valid indefinitely? some of my peers have applied for L1A extension.. but not sure if its ind or blanket.

Blanket petitions are valid indefinitely. But as Kabakaba mentioned even though petition is valid indefinitely the stretch as such on L1A, without a 1 Year outside US stay, can at max be for 7 Years and 5 Years for L1B. If oen stay out of US for 1 Year or more, if it is a blanket petition it can be reused to get another 7 years / 5 Year stay otherwise if it was individual petition one needs to file a new petition. Blanket petitions are more associated with the organizations per se, not individuals.

Also, even on blanket and individual petitions, the consulates gives visas only for 3 Year at max and one needs ot file for extension in order to extend ones visa to beyond 3 Years, again, upto a max of 7 or 5 as per the classification.


This is my opinion not legal advice.

[kabkaba]

Your stay in the US is limited by I-94 expiry. So when the I-94 is about to expire, even if the petition is valid indefinitely, the employer has to file a petition to extend the stay (I-94). That becomes an individual petition in that case.