Need help in understanding the h1 and h4 process

[Madhuri2203]

I'm currently on l1 visa expiring in July 2015. My employer is sponsoring my h1 visa this year and My case will be filed in 2016 quota. my attorney says that since my l1 visa is expiring in July, my H1 will be processed through consulate and I should leave USA in July and apply for h1 visa if my petition gets approved!

However, my thoughts in this are.. h1 lottery results should be out before July... And if I get selected in lottery, I'm thinking to apply for a l1 extension from here in July (few days before expiry) and buy few more days to stay here... If I get extension then I can continue on this visa till October and later switch to h1.. And if I don't get extension I can still be able to stay in usa using the time available for answering rfe or awaiting extension result for few months...

Can someone help me understand the difference between changing status of visa to h1 from l1 and processing visa through consulate? If I get successful in staying back in USA till oct 2015, will i be able to change status or do I still need to go to india and get visa stamped?

thank u...

[raghvi]

I'm currently on l1 visa expiring in July 2015. My employer is sponsoring my h1 visa this year and My case will be filed in 2016 quota. my attorney says that since my l1 visa is expiring in July, my H1 will be processed through consulate and I should leave USA in July and apply for h1 visa if my petition gets approved!

However, my thoughts in this are.. h1 lottery results should be out before July... And if I get selected in lottery, I'm thinking to apply for a l1 extension from here in July (few days before expiry) and buy few more days to stay here... If I get extension then I can continue on this visa till October and later switch to h1.. And if I don't get extension I can still be able to stay in usa using the time available for answering rfe or awaiting extension result for few months...

Can someone help me understand the difference between changing status of visa to h1 from l1 and processing visa through consulate? If I get successful in staying back in USA till oct 2015, will i be able to change status or do I still need to go to india and get visa stamped?

thank u...

Thats not how it works. Technically your Status Change to H1 on 01-Oct-2015 (if H1 approved as COS) would be valid only if you were in valid Status on 30-Sep-2015. You would be in valid status on 30-Sep-2015 only if your L1 Extension has been approved, a pending L1 extension though allows you to stay, it does not in itself provide you with a valid status.

This is my opinion not legal advice.