L1- H - I -94 expiry before October 1

[gokisharu]

I have a query regarding my visa status.

I'm right now in L1-B Visa. My Visa and I-94 expires on August 13 2016. I have applied for my L to H conversion through my current employer and I have got my receipt number.

I'm not maxing out till Jan 11, 2019.

1) What is the timelines for USCIS to adjudicate my Change of Status from L1 to H1B?
a) If my Change of Status update takes more than 130 days (i.e., after August 13th), can I continue my stay in US?
2) In case, If I cannot stay, what is the process to expedite the process of USCIS adjudicating my receipt status ?
3) Also, If I get to know the status before my I-94 expiry,can I continue staying in US or should I come to India for stamping?

4) Also, wanted to check, if I raise L1 extension through my same company, will the outcome of L1 Extension affect my H1 visa status?
a) What if I raise the L Extension very late, probably by 1st week of June, Will that help?

[raghvi]

I have a query regarding my visa status.

I'm right now in L1-B Visa. My Visa and I-94 expires on August 13 2016. I have applied for my L to H conversion through my current employer and I have got my receipt number.

I'm not maxing out till Jan 11, 2019.

1) What is the timelines for USCIS to adjudicate my Change of Status from L1 to H1B?
a) If my Change of Status update takes more than 130 days (i.e., after August 13th), can I continue my stay in US?
2) In case, If I cannot stay, what is the process to expedite the process of USCIS adjudicating my receipt status ?
3) Also, If I get to know the status before my I-94 expiry,can I continue staying in US or should I come to India for stamping?

4) Also, wanted to check, if I raise L1 extension through my same company, will the outcome of L1 Extension affect my H1 visa status?
a) What if I raise the L Extension very late, probably by 1st week of June, Will that help?

Assuming your H1 petition does get approved and assuming its start date is 01-Oct-2016. There is no single way for working till 30-Sep-2016 on L1 and moving to H1 from 01-Oct-2016 without involving a travel outside US. It gets complicated and below explanation may help you understand why so.

Few scenarios:

1. USCIS will approve the COS to H1 and give you an I-94 valid from 01-Oct-2016 onwards. If this happens, it still does not give you authority to work between Aug 13 - Sep 30. In order to be allowed to work between this time, you need to file L1 extension. Now the challenge is that if you file L1 extension , the same can be approved or denied, if approved before 30-Sep-2016 then you are good, if approved after 01-Oct-2016 then you move back to L1 status (from H1).If denied before 30-Sep-2016 then you should leave US. There is no clarification provided by USCIS as to what needs to be done if they deny your request for L1 extension after 01-Oct-2016 when they have already approved your COS to H1 from 01-Oct-2016.
2. USCIS will approve the H1 petition but not give you a I-94, in that case, in order to stay and work beyond Aug 13 2016, you need to file for L1 extension before Aug-13. Again, if they deny your L1 extension you need to leave immediately. If they approve it, then you can have your employer file a L1 to H1 COS again.

A lot depends upon the timing of approvals and denials too, which in turn depends upon if the petitions have been filed with premium request.

If you want to avoid all these complications, I would suggest asking your employer to upgrade the H1 petition request to premium. This way you would come to know the decision on H1 fairly quickly and plan accordingly. If upgraded to premium now, you would most probably get the approval by June end (but remember H1 can only start from 01-Oct-2016). So then, you can apply for L1 extension say in July end 2016 in premium category, if rejected, leave US, go for H1 stamping, and return Sep 21st 2016 to start work from 01-Oct-2016.

This is my opinion not legal advice.