H1 B Extension

[viveks]

Hi

My current H1 visa expires on September 2015 and the I94 also expires on October 10, 2015. My current Indian passport is valid till April 2016. Currently I am in US.

1. Am I eligible for requesting for my H1B extension? My actual concern is with the passport expiry date.

2. If yes, then what would be the validity of the extended H1B visa?

3. If my H1 visa got extended, when should I get it stamped in my passport? Suppose if I am planning to go India by December 2015, and if I want to come back, should I apply a new passport and then get the visa stamped on it? Is this possible?

Thanks in advance. Waiting for the reply.

[raghvi]

Hi

My current H1 visa expires on September 2015 and the I94 also expires on October 10, 2015. My current Indian passport is valid till April 2016. Currently I am in US.

1. Am I eligible for requesting for my H1B extension? My actual concern is with the passport expiry date.

2. If yes, then what would be the validity of the extended H1B visa?

3. If my H1 visa got extended, when should I get it stamped in my passport? Suppose if I am planning to go India by December 2015, and if I want to come back, should I apply a new passport and then get the visa stamped on it? Is this possible?

Thanks in advance. Waiting for the reply.

1. Yes you can . Why not get a new passport while in US, and then apply for H1 extension ? Your larger concern should be whether employer is willing to file extension for you. How long have you already spent in US?
2. Depends upon how long you have already spent in US and how long your employer has requested for/can show work for you.
3. As I said in point 1 , apply for new passport in US itself, and then apply for h1 extension. October 2015 is still 6 Months away, you can easily get passport renewed and H1 extension done in US itself provided you have the right documentation.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[viveks]

Thanks a lot Raghvi for the reply.

1. As you mentioned I am also looking for an option to get a new passport from US itself. But it looks like I can apply only after April 2015 for renewal. So I was thinking whether I should wait till then. Another concern was that since I am married now, if we need the spouse details to be endorsed in new passport, they are asking for the notarized copy of my spouses passport also (referred in BLS site). She is in India now and passport original is also in India and I am not sure whether they will accept a copy notarized from India itself. Checked this with BLS customer care also, but did not get a proper answer. So thinking whether the option to get the new passport from US itself will work or not.

All this confusion lead me to think the other way. It may not be a big deal, but since this is first time for me, I am not sure.


2. And as you asked, my employer is willing to file extension for me. I have been here only since last four months. My current visa is valid only for one year which ends up in Sep 2015.

Let me know if you have any thoughts.

Thanks again for the reply.