L1B plus H1B stay - H1B ending in Nov 2013

[IndianMdu]

Hello All,

I entered US on L1B on July 2007 and stayed in US for 2 year 11 days (actual stay excluding vacations). I got new H1B and came to US on March 2011 and I’m with H1B for 2 years now. My H1B visa is expiring by Nov 2013 and I94 till Dec10th 2013.My total stay inside and outside US are given below. Both Visas are with same employer only. I didn’t change the client from my original H1B petition and extension is going to be with same client again.

Visa Entry Date Exit Date Days in US Days outside US Remarks
L1-B 7/14/2007 8/17/2007 33 Got new L1B Valid till Aug 2010
------------------------------------------- 359
L1-B 8/11/2008 12/24/2009 496
-------------------------------------------32
L1-B Jan-10 Aug-10 212
-------------------------------------------182
H1-B Mar-11 Nov-11 251 Got New H1B vaild till Nov 2013
-------------------------------------------10
H1-B Nov-11 Feb-12 82
-------------------------------------------32
H1-B Mar-12 May-13 396
-------------------------------------------27
H1-B Jun-13
Total no of days inside US as of Jun30 2013-1470
Total no of days outside US as of Jun 2013 -642

1. If I apply for H1b extension now, how much validity I’m supposed to get? My current project contract is valid till Apr 2016 and I can submit SOW and master agreement. My employee and customer have direct relationship and no middle vendor.
2. Can I count for days to get the extension, which I spent outside US (i.e. 642 days) after my H1B expiry on Nov 2013?
3. I want to go for Green card. But my current employer doesn’t sponsor GCs. Is it advisable to change employer now or to change after I get extension of visa? I’m worried if I change employer now, it will affect the success rate of extension.
4. If I want to apply for PERM labor and want to get 1 yr or 3 yr extension after 6 years, when is the latest time to do that? ie how much time i have to safely go through the PERM labor approval ?

Thanks in advance for all your valuable inputs and suggestions.

[raghvi]

L1+H1 can be for 6 Years physical stay in US.

1 &2. So if your maths is right you probably can get another 23 Months of H1B extension. Your lawyer /your company lawyer would need proof of the entry and exit records to build a case for the same.

3. In order for you to get an extension of 1 Year beyond 6th Year your Labor needs to be filed at least 365 days before the 6th year expiry. That is, before your 5th year ends. You probably have another 10 Months to get either current employer or a new employer to file the same for you. In order for you to get 3 Year extension your I140 needs to be approved.

4. If current employer not willing to process GC best to start looking for a new employer now so that you have enough time to join the new employer and start the processing. Some employers require a person to be an employee for at least 1 Year to start the GC processing.


More details about H1 beyond 6th Year can be found at :

https://www.immihelp.com/h1-visa-extension-beyond-6-years-in-usa/

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[IndianMdu]

Dear Raghvi,

Thank you for most clearly and to the point answer. I referred the link as well and I understood it in below way. Hopefully I am right.

1. If Labour perm (Form ETA-750) is approved or pending for more than 365 days (filing before end of fifth year), then extension can be done in increments of 1 year at a time.
2. If I140 is approved, then extension can be done in increments of 3 year at a time.

Thanks!

L1+H1 can be for 6 Years physical stay in US.

1 &2. So if your maths is right you probably can get another 23 Months of H1B extension. Your lawyer /your company lawyer would need proof of the entry and exit records to build a case for the same.

3. In order for you to get an extension of 1 Year beyond 6th Year your Labor needs to be filed at least 365 days before the 6th year expiry. That is, before your 5th year ends. You probably have another 10 Months to get either current employer or a new employer to file the same for you. In order for you to get 3 Year extension your I140 needs to be approved.

4. If current employer not willing to process GC best to start looking for a new employer now so that you have enough time to join the new employer and start the processing. Some employers require a person to be an employee for at least 1 Year to start the GC processing.


More details about H1 beyond 6th Year can be found at :

https://www.immihelp.com/h1-visa-extension-beyond-6-years-in-usa/

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[IndianMdu]

l1b plus h1b - unused h1b years after 6 yrs limit

Dear Raghvi & members,

In connection to below thread,My current H1B expires on Nov 30, 2013. My employer has applied for extension and its pending with uscis. LCA shows the employment date requested is for dec 2013 to sep 2015 since my physical stay in US will be 6 years by sep 2015
(L1 is 2 years +h1 is 4 years). So at end of 6th year, I will still have 2 years unused in h1b . My question are below, basically how to make use of 2 unused years in h1b out of 6 yearsh1bpetition. Please advise.

1. With Nov 2013, i would have used only 2 year and 8 months physical h1b stay in US. since i stayed in l1 for sometime, my 6 yr limit ends in sep 2015. if i go out of US on Nov 2013 and stay for 1 year and come back , Can i apply for h1b extension and get for full 3 years ?

2.Suppose, If leave US on Nov 2013 and come back on dec 2014 (assuming my pending extension petition gets approved ) and can I apply for another extension on Sep 2015? On applying, can i get 3 yr extension till dec 2017 including recap?

3. Any other best possible thing can be done to make use of unused h1b

Thanks much!

[Ranjan13]

Hi IndianMdu - Did you get answer for your question ? I am also in a similar situation. How can we use the remaining years left in the H1B ? Green card processing is the only option ? If i go back to india and stay for 1 year, do i have to apply for new petition or i can reuse my existing H1B petition ? Do i need to still go through lottery system ? I have still 3 years left in my H1B. Please advise. Appreciate your response.

Thanks
Ranjan.