L1B to L1A or H1B

[lalitjain2002]

My friend is on L1B which will expire in Apr 2011 (5 yrs), his company is applying for a fresh L1A (blanket) for him in Oct (as it has to be applied 6 mnths prior to L1B expire date). He has to go out of country for Stamping before he can work on L1A.

While this is happening he is also planning to look for jobs (close to getting an offer) and move on to H1B with new job by applying H1B with COS.

Now confusion is all these are happening at almost same time and would like to know what happens if

1. L1A petition gets approved before H1B petition
Say L1A petition gets approved on 10th Oct
H1B petition gets approved on 12th Oct
He is scheduled to go to India for stamping on 15 Oct ...
Which visa will be valid in this case, can he cancel stamping visit on 12th Oct.

2. H1B petition with COS gets approved before L1A
H1B petition gets approved on 10th Oct
L1A petition gets approved on 12th Oct
He is scheduled for L1A Stamping from India on 15th Oct. And say he is in India when H1B petition got approved. Will he have to get H1B stamping now ?

3. L1A petition gets approved but stamping gets rejected
L1A petition gets approved on 10th Oct
L1A stamping gets rejected on 15th Oct
H1B petition with COS gets approved on 18th Oct.

a) when they reject L1A can they also reject L1B visa which is already stamped and has dates till Apr 2011. We are hoping if L1A gets rejected he can still come on L1B which is valid till apr 2011, in that case we will file H1B with COS only after he is back from India. But if consulate can reject both L1B and L1A then it will be risky to do this as then he wont be able to come back to US.

b) If he is in India on 18th Oct when H1B petition got approved can he now take interview dates for H1B stamping and appear at consulate ?

c) The change of status with H1B was filled for L1B to H1B but on 15th Oct his new status was L1A and the COS form is already submitted would that e valid as on 18th Oct when H1B got approved he was no more in L1B status so the COS would look false.

Thanks in advance for taking time to understand this case and replying. These questions are very important for us to decide about our visa and any help would e appreciated.

Thanks a lot
Lalit

[lalitjain2002]

Shervin and Others, please take some time to reply to my question. They are really important for me and am waiting to hear your opinion on these questions.

[shervin143]

1. L1A petition gets approved before H1B petition Say L1A petition gets approved on 10th Oct H1B petition gets approved on 12th Oct He is scheduled to go to India for stamping on 15 Oct ... Which visa will be valid in this case, can he cancel stamping visit on 12th Oct.
>>> I am not sure what you are trying to ask. If you go for L1A stamping and if it gets approved, then you will have L!A visa. If you go for H1B stamping and H1B gets approved, then your will have H1B visa. Most likely, the VO would let you have only one work visa at a time. So if you already have a valid L1 visa, then upon successful H1B stamping, then L1 might get cancelled.

2. H1B petition with COS gets approved before L1A H1B petition gets approved on 10th Oct L1A petition gets approved on 12th Oct He is scheduled for L1A Stamping from India on 15th Oct. And say he is in India when H1B petition got approved. Will he have to get H1B stamping now ?
>>> If the petition is filed as a COS, then it is never advisable to leave the country when the petition is pending with USCIS. Irrespective of that, you need a valid visa to return back. If you want to work on L1A, then you need a valid L1A visa. If you want to work in H1B, then you need a valid H1B visa.

3. L1A petition gets approved but stamping gets rejected L1A petition gets approved on 10th Oct. L1A stamping gets rejected on 15th Oct
H1B petition with COS gets approved on 18th Oct.
>>> Most likely your COS will be denied if you are not in the country. Just in case, the COS gets approved, then the COS will come with a new I-94. When you leave the country, you need to return all the I-94. If the COS gets approved and you are not in the country, then upon your return, you are going to get one more I-94 and it is going to complicate things.

To answer your question, you can go for H1B stamping if L1A gets denied.

a) when they reject L1A can they also reject L1B visa which is already stamped and has dates till Apr 2011. We are hoping if L1A gets rejected he can still come on L1B which is valid till apr 2011, in that case we will file H1B with COS only after he is back from India. But if consulate can reject both L1B and L1A then it will be risky to do this as then he wont be able to come back to US.
>>> That totally depends on the VO. Sometimes they will cancel the previous visa when you go for a new one.

b) If he is in India on 18th Oct when H1B petition got approved can he now take interview dates for H1B stamping and appear at consulate ?
>>> Yes.

c) The change of status with H1B was filled for L1B to H1B but on 15th Oct his new status was L1A and the COS form is already submitted would that e valid as on 18th Oct when H1B got approved he was no more in L1B status so the COS would look false.
>>> Read about the last action rule in the forum. The last approved I-94 will take effect and your status will chance as per the last approved petition with I-94.