I797 validity after 6 years

[rajkothi1]

Hi,

I had my H1B visa stamped in Oct,2008 in India and it was valid till Sep30,2011.
But due to some reason I have not travelled to US till date.
Now my question is
1) If I apply for an extension or Tranfer of employer will I be coming under H1B cap?
2) Is my I797 valid only for 6 years or will it be valid indefinitely (as I haven't entered once also)?

Please advice me how to proceed further...your response is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Raj

[raghvi]

Hi,

I had my H1B visa stamped in Oct,2008 in India and it was valid till Sep30,2011.
But due to some reason I have not travelled to US till date.
Now my question is
1) If I apply for an extension or Tranfer of employer will I be coming under H1B cap?
2) Is my I797 valid only for 6 years or will it be valid indefinitely (as I haven't entered once also)?

Please advice me how to proceed further...your response is highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Raj

I believe you have only till this year. Its either 6 Years from last held H1 status OR 6 Years from Cap Count.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rajkothi1]

I believe you have only till this year. Its either 6 Years from last held H1 status OR 6 Years from Cap Count.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for the quick response Raghvi.

One of my friend has informed me that as I have not utilized my H1B even once to travel to US,
So my case will not be coming under the H1B cap limit even after 6 years.

Please let me know If I have time only upto Sept30 2014 for Extension or transfer?

Thanks in Advance,
Raj

[raghvi]

Yes your friend is right. Thats why I told that you have pretty much only till this year (Sep 2014) to get on to H1 status. Once on H1 status, you can later on keep extending it. Otherwise you have to file in next year April 2015 H1 quota, with start only from Oct 2015, and possibly go through a lottery.

This is my opinion not legal advice.