Suggest- Peculiar case : H1-B petition approved only for 2 months.

[nareshravuru]

Hi Friends,

Congratulations to all who got H1-B approval this year and good luck for people who were not picked in lottery/rejected in this year's CAP. Here is my case. To my knowledge, this case might not have occurred to any one else. My company A (I have been working in this company since 7 yrs 7 months) filed H1-B for 2015. I got picked in lottery and I got an RFE too. As part of RFE response, my company submitted SOW (which is valid till 19th Dec, 2014) and Manager Letter as well. In manager letter also the forecasted end date of project was given as 19th Dec, 2014 (as per SOW).

Today my company received I-797 and I was shocked to see that the petition was valid from 1st Oct, 2014 to 19th Dec, 2014. It means just 2 months validity.

Please suggest : 1. Can I go for stamping?
2. If I go for stamping, will there be any chances of getting visa stamped beyond petition validity end date?
3. If I go for stamping and assuming that getting Visa validity till petition validity end date, and if I don't travel (due to personal constraints) will I come under CAP exempt next time when filing a petition?
4. Will it be better to avoid going for stamping altogether? Is there a possibility that VO might not want to issue a visa for this lesser duration?
5. What are my options considering my case.

[raghvi]

Hi Friends,

Congratulations to all who got H1-B approval this year and good luck for people who were not picked in lottery/rejected in this year's CAP. Here is my case. To my knowledge, this case might not have occurred to any one else. My company A (I have been working in this company since 7 yrs 7 months) filed H1-B for 2015. I got picked in lottery and I got an RFE too. As part of RFE response, my company submitted SOW (which is valid till 19th Dec, 2014) and Manager Letter as well. In manager letter also the forecasted end date of project was given as 19th Dec, 2014 (as per SOW).

Today my company received I-797 and I was shocked to see that the petition was valid from 1st Oct, 2014 to 19th Dec, 2014. It means just 2 months validity.

Please suggest : 1. Can I go for stamping?
2. If I go for stamping, will there be any chances of getting visa stamped beyond petition validity end date?
3. If I go for stamping and assuming that getting Visa validity till petition validity end date, and if I don't travel (due to personal constraints) will I come under CAP exempt next time when filing a petition?
4. Will it be better to avoid going for stamping altogether? Is there a possibility that VO might not want to issue a visa for this lesser duration?
5. What are my options considering my case.

1. Technically you can
2. I doubt, but possible.
3. Yes you would be cap exempt for the next 6 Years that is no need to be part of any fresh H1/lottery.
4. 50/50. I would say so, why not get an updated SOW, with extended dates, and then subsequently file for amendment of H1. On the other hand, you can always get the same amendment done later on.
5. How confident are you about the next SOW and how long it would be for, you need to ask your management that question.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[nareshravuru]

Thanks Raghvi. I have few more doubts. Can you please clarify them too. Thanks.

1. Technically you can
2. I doubt, but possible.
3. Yes you would be cap exempt for the next 6 Years that is no need to be part of any fresh H1/lottery.
4. 50/50. I would say so, why not get an updated SOW, with extended dates, and then subsequently file for amendment of H1. On the other hand, you can always get the same amendment done later on.
5. How confident are you about the next SOW and how long it would be for, you need to ask your management that question.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thank you very much Raghvi for sharing your opinions. Can you please help me understand little more about your answer to my 4th question.

4. Will it be better to avoid going for stamping altogether? Is there a possibility that VO might not want to issue a visa for this lesser duration?

- "50/50. I would say so, why not get an updated SOW, with extended dates, and then subsequently file for amendment of H1. On the other hand, you can always get the same amendment done later on."

We will be getting our SOW for the year of 2015 in Jan or Feb of 2015. Again that SOW would have the validity till the end of 2015. Can you please provide some light on how to file amendment of H1. For that do I need to travel atleast once with the visa acquired through this petition? Or with out going for stamping with this lesser duration petition, I need to ask my company to file for an amendment? When can a company file for an amendment?

Raghvi, one more question : If I quit current company A (which filed my petition and got approval), and join another company B, will that company B be able to file for a new petition? Thank you in advance for providing your valuable suggestions to all the users of ImmiHelp.com