Can I apply for H1-B from L2 status

[jindal]

Hi
I am in US right now on L2 Status.
My wife is on L1 status.
I am planning to work in US.
But being on L2 if my wife is sent to india, after her assignment is complete, I will have to leave the job.
One of the job consultant told me that he can get me L2 converted into H1B Directly.
Earlier I had applied for H1-B from india but didn't get through the lottery.

Please let me know if there is anything that I can do so that I need not to go back to India as soon my wife's assignment is done.

[txh1b]

L2 can be changed to COS but only after you get into the next H1b selection. There are other issues with COS and being on H1b. You need to get paid all the time. Benching without pay is illegal.

[C4us]

Is being in the US more important than being with your wife? That is how your post sounds.

Have you not learned by now not to listen to shady consultants. If one tells you there is a ***** way he can do something that your current or other potential employers cannot, it should be obvious that there is something wrong with the ***** employer. There are no special contacts, and no one can go around US rules and regulations.

[jindal]

what is COS?

L2 can be changed to COS but only after you get into the next H1b selection. There are other issues with COS and being on H1b. You need to get paid all the time. Benching without pay is illegal.

does that mean if I don't get through the lottery for the next H-1B selection I cannot get into H1-B / COS

What is COS?

[C4us]

COS = Change of status

Just because you currently or previously had a US visa you have no preferences for a different visa status. You must go through the lottery if it is held to be able to obtain an H1B visa.

Once you wife's company terminates her US position, both you and she must stop working immediately and return to your home country unless you are on H1B status. If you have been selected in the H1B lottery and you wife is employed until Oct 1, 2009, you could qualify for a COS to H1B. If her job terminates before Oct 1, 2009, you must return to your home country with her. There are no other options for you to work in the US at this time.