L1-B visa extension

[info2012]

Dear friends,

I will be travelling to US on L1-B visa in 1-2 months. My L1-B visa is valid till March,2013.
Can you pls let me know the below quarries -
1. How long it'll take to extend?
2. Is it possible that I can continue my work in US during the time my employer file for extension or do I need to come back to my home country?
3. If I'm working on L1-B visa in US, at the same time, can my employer file for H1-B visa?

Looking forward to hear back from you

[shervin143]

1. How long it'll take to extend?
>>> 2-4 months in normal process and 15 days by premium (assuming there are no RFEs).

2. Is it possible that I can continue my work in US during the time my employer file for extension or do I need to come back to my home country?
>>> If the extension is filed before your I-94 expiry date, then you can continue to stay and work until you receive the extension. If the extension gets denied, then any time spend in U.S after your I-94 expiry date will be treated as illegal stay. USCIS gives you 6 months in advance to file the extension (Extension can be filed 6 months prior to your I-94 expiry date).

3. If I'm working on L1-B visa in US, at the same time, can my employer file for H1-B visa?
>>> Yes.

[info2012]

Thanks shervin143! for your reply!

Could you please also let me know -
1. if I'm travelling to US on 1st July,2012 then I-94 will be valid till 1st July,2013 or it can be less than or equal to my L1 expiry date(March, 2013)?

2. Is it also possible that I-94 expiry date can be greater than L1 expiry date?

3. How about the L1 extension rejection rate from US?

Looking forward to hear back from you

[raghvi]

1. No one can predict hat I-94 expiry date you will get. It all depends on the VO and your interaction with the VO at the POE.If your passport is expiring within next 1 year or so only till the passport expiry date. If your passport is valid for more than 1 Year then you might get the Visa Expiry/Petition expiry date. If Visa/Petition is expiring beyond 1 Year you might get I-94 for more then 1 Year. No definite law/rule is applicable.
2. There are many cases where the I-94 was/is given beyond Visa expiry dates especially with L1Bs.
3. No one is keeping track of the %age of rejections for L1 extensions in US but off late all visa categories are having more scrutiny than earlier and especially L1s.

The above is solely my opinion, not legal advice.

[XYZ_USA]

L1 B extension with petition 3 Yrs, but stayed only 2 Years

1. No one can predict hat I-94 expiry date you will get. It all depends on the VO and your interaction with the VO at the POE.If your passport is expiring within next 1 year or so only till the passport expiry date. If your passport is valid for more than 1 Year then you might get the Visa Expiry/Petition expiry date. If Visa/Petition is expiring beyond 1 Year you might get I-94 for more then 1 Year. No definite law/rule is applicable.
2. There are many cases where the I-94 was/is given beyond Visa expiry dates especially with L1Bs.
3. No one is keeping track of the %age of rejections for L1 extensions in US but off late all visa categories are having more scrutiny than earlier and especially L1s.

The above is solely my opinion, not legal advice.

Hi Raghavi,

Mine is also similar case, I had my visa stamped in July 2010, but traveled to US actually in 2011 Apr and I have visa/I-94 valid till May 2013. Can you tell me if there are any more chances for getting visa extension(for an extra 1 year) since I am not in US for an year, does it make any difference or it will just fall under normal situation.

Thanks in advance.
XYZ_USA.

[raghvi]

It is difficult but possible. Generally companies try to recapture only during the final extension process. Talk to your company attorney for how the company would like to do it. There is very little one can independently while on L1. This is my opinion not legal advice.

[XYZ_USA]

Any other alternatives

It is difficult but possible. Generally companies try to recapture only during the final extension process. Talk to your company attorney for how the company would like to do it. There is very little one can independently while on L1. This is my opinion not legal advice.

Hi -Thanks for the reply. Are there any other options for me to continue the stay after may 2013 ,assuming L1 B Extension fails.In other terms is there some thing I can do now so that I can stay after May 2013,even if My L1 Extension fails.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,
XYZ_USA.

[raghvi]

Hi -Thanks for the reply. Are there any other options for me to continue the stay after may 2013 ,assuming L1 B Extension fails.In other terms is there some thing I can do now so that I can stay after May 2013,even if My L1 Extension fails.

Thanks in advance,

Regards,
XYZ_USA.

In case you get an I-94 beyond your L1 expiry you can stay till the I-94 expiry without filing for extension.

Assuming you get I-94 valid till May 2013 or earlier, and in case you file extension and it gets denied you would have to leave as per USCIS direction that comes along with the rejection.

If you have had an approved H1 petition in last 6 years you can possibly move to H1 . If not, you can apply for fresh H1 April 2013 , but you can work on that H1, if approved, only from 01-Oct-2013 eventually necessitating you to travel outside US to avoid illegal stay for the period May 2013 -Oct 2013.

This is my opinion, not legal advice.

[XYZ_USA]

In case you get an I-94 beyond your L1 expiry you can stay till the I-94 expiry without filing for extension.

Assuming you get I-94 valid till May 2013 or earlier, and in case you file extension and it gets denied you would have to leave as per USCIS direction that comes along with the rejection.

If you have had an approved H1 petition in last 6 years you can possibly move to H1 . If not, you can apply for fresh H1 April 2013 , but you can work on that H1, if approved, only from 01-Oct-2013 eventually necessitating you to travel outside US to avoid illegal stay for the period May 2013 -Oct 2013.

This is my opinion, not legal advice.

Thanks Ragvi for detailed and speed reply. Sounds like I got all my questions/doubts answered. I heard that some comapnies does H1 Cap Excempt filing. If I can find one such employer, can I change it immediately or even after my L1 extension rejects or L1 Extension and H1 Cap Exempt filing can be done in parallel ? Also I want to know if the stay after I-94/visa expired is valid when the extension is filed and awaiting status(Assuming I apply for Extension in Apr 2013 and if response reject/denied comes in Aug 2013, what is my staty from June-Aug 2012, valid or invalid? Will it have impact on my future trips to India.

In the same context I am planning to apply GC in next couple of months, Will that have any impact or will that provide me any advantage.

Thanks in advance,

[raghvi]

Thanks Ragvi for detailed and speed reply. Sounds like I got all my questions/doubts answered. I heard that some comapnies does H1 Cap Excempt filing. If I can find one such employer, can I change it immediately or even after my L1 extension rejects or L1 Extension and H1 Cap Exempt filing can be done in parallel ? Also I want to know if the stay after I-94/visa expired is valid when the extension is filed and awaiting status(Assuming I apply for Extension in Apr 2013 and if response reject/denied comes in Aug 2013, what is my staty from June-Aug 2012, valid or invalid? Will it have impact on my future trips to India.

In the same context I am planning to apply GC in next couple of months, Will that have any impact or will that provide me any advantage.

Thanks in advance,

You can be Cap Exempt only if you were counted in Cap in last 6 Years. Did you ever have an approved H1 petition in last 6 Years? If not then there is no way a company can file a Cap exempt petition for you.

USCIS allows one to file extension as early as 6 Months before I-94 expiry, its always dicey and risky to file extension till last moment and stay on an expired I-94 while awaiting extension decision because if extension gets denied, your stay after I-94 expiry is considered illegal. So in your example timeline, your stay from I-94 exiry till Aug 2012 will be considered illegal and can certainly affect your future petitions, stamping, GC processing etc.

Just applying for GC is not enough. One has to go through various stages in GC before one is eligible to work on GC. There is a different section dedicated in Immihelp for GC, please go through that.

The above is my opinion, not legal advice.

[XYZ_USA]

You can be Cap Exempt only if you were counted in Cap in last 6 Years. Did you ever have an approved H1 petition in last 6 Years? If not then there is no way a company can file a Cap exempt petition for you.

USCIS allows one to file extension as early as 6 Months before I-94 expiry, its always dicey and risky to file extension till last moment and stay on an expired I-94 while awaiting extension decision because if extension gets denied, your stay after I-94 expiry is considered illegal. So in your example timeline, your stay from I-94 exiry till Aug 2012 will be considered illegal and can certainly affect your future petitions, stamping, GC processing etc.

Just applying for GC is not enough. One has to go through various stages in GC before one is eligible to work on GC. There is a different section dedicated in Immihelp for GC, please go through that.

The above is my opinion, not legal advice.

Thanks again. Cap Exempt i am referring is the organizations that are eligible ie., higher education institutions or subsidary of them. Well i know that GC is long process, but applying for GC and getting a priority date and awaiting for Labor approval can add any advantage is L1 B Extension ? . Also is it possible to transfer from L1 B to L1 A (assuming I am eligible for L1A).


Thanks once again in advance.

[info2012]

H1 B apply

Dear all,

I'm working in US on L1B. My I94 expiry date is on 23rd March,2013. I've heard that my employer can file petition for H1B on April,2013. Is it possible that I will continue my stay till I get H1B or I have to back to my home country?

[raghvi]

Dear all,

I'm working in US on L1B. My I94 expiry date is on 23rd March,2013. I've heard that my employer can file petition for H1B on April,2013. Is it possible that I will continue my stay till I get H1B or I have to back to my home country?

Unless your company files an extension for your L1, you cannot stay beyond 23rd March 2013. The H1 even if filed in April 2013, if it is a fresh one, can be effective only from 01 Oct 2013. Unless your L1 extension is approved and the subsequent H1 is filed as a COS and is also approved as a COS, you will have to go out of US and return only after getting a fresh H1 stamp. This is my opinion not legal advice.

[info2012]

Hi friends,

Currently I'm in US and am on L1-B visa. My visa and I-94 is getting expired on 23rd March,2013. Can you please let me know
My employer is going to change my status from L1 to H1-B which is going to start from 1st April,2013 and it will become active from Oct, 2013.
is it possible that I do not need to go back to my home country during this time and I can continue my work from US?

[raghvi]

Hi friends,

Currently I'm in US and am on L1-B visa. My visa and I-94 is getting expired on 23rd March,2013. Can you please let me know
My employer is going to change my status from L1 to H1-B which is going to start from 1st April,2013 and it will become active from Oct, 2013.
is it possible that I do not need to go back to my home country during this time and I can continue my work from US?

Asking the same question again and again will not change the answer. If you are filing a fresh H1 then its start date will only be 01-Oct-2013 or later. On what visa are you going to stay in US from 23rd March 2013 till 01-Oct-2013? You dont have a valid I-94 or visa to stay in US during this period. The only way for you to not go back to home country and continue work is to apply for L1 extension and get it approved.

This is my opinion not legal advice.