Urgent - H1 is not approved till now

[madhav_s]

Hello Seniors,

I'm working in the US on L1 visa for company A. I applied for my H1 this year (2008) through companyB. It got selected in the lottery. I see that the my H1 is still not approved. It's Aug 28 today and still it's pending.

I spoke to the employer B, they say we need to wait till they approve . Nonody can predict when this will be approved. I have the following questions".

a) He mentioned that it may take January 09 also
Is this correct ?

b) I know that on Oct 01 2008 a person can work on H1 if it's approved. I also know that all fresh H1 cases are approved before Oct 01. Is this true ?

c) I'm planning to do leap frog to save my L1B visa. If my case is not approved before my date of travel (Sept 12), then what will the status of my H1 be ?

d) I'm planning to come baxk to US on Oct 10 after Leap frog on my L1 Visa. So if my Visa gets approved after Oct 10, will my status will automatically get converted into H1 then ? Also, what should I do to save my L1 at that time ?

Please respond. I'm really tensed.

[orion]

1 May be, no one knows.
2 true for most cases, except for like yours.
3 If H1 with COS is not approved, you need to not travel, until it is approved, your status is L1.
4 See 3

[txh1b]

[QUOTE=madhav_s] c) I'm planning to do leap frog to save my L1B visa. If my case is not approved before my date of travel (Sept 12), then what will the status of my H1 be ?

d) I'm planning to come baxk to US on Oct 10 after Leap frog on my L1 Visa. So if my Visa gets approved after Oct 10, will my status will automatically get converted into H1 then ? Also, what should I do to save my L1 at that time ?

[QUOTE]

C. If you travel on a pending COS, the COS gets abandoned. The application gets processed as usual.

D. Your status will remain L1 if you enter with a new I-94 as COS is considered void if approval happens after your entry on a new I-94 number.

[madhav_s]

Thank you for your immense help to the users of this forum.
I appreciate it

So this means:

1) If I travel on an unapproved H1B visa, and come back on L1 with new I94, I can still work on L1B visa, correct ?

2) Also, will (1) void my L1B to H1B COS ?

3) If (2) is yes, later whenever I'm ready to work on H1B, I think I've 2 options:
a) File for an amendment (premium / regular)
b) Go out of the US (preferably home country) and get H1B stamped.

4) If I come back to the US and still find that my H1B is not approved, in this case also, I can continue to work on L1B visa, correct ?

5) Suppose on Oct 30 my H1 gets approved, per your answer I find that it will void (not get converted automatically) in H1B and I can continue to work on L1b, please confirm.

Just wanted to confirm my understanding and make sure I can work on L1b as long as till my L1B is valid. Travel to home country is really very expensive. I've spent around $1500 just for my travel

Immigration laws are really complex so just want to understand and esure my intention to "leap frog" gets satisficed. Thank you once again.

[madhav_s]

Hello TxH1B,

Could you answer the query asked on 09-03-2008 at 10:16 AM ?

Appreciate your quick response !

[txh1b]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. Yes provided you left before the H1b got approved.

If you already traveled and entered after your H1b was filed on L1, you need not do leapfrog as COS is already void based on the new I-94