H1B Expired : Exception Filed by Employer

[sundaramsumitra]

My husband's H1B expired on Sept 30, 2011. His employer did not apply for an extension due to a major issue (the contract document with their client is not available due to some unknown reasons) in the company. Now his employer says that my husband's case is filed as an exception with the USCIS. So he can stay in US but not work. He will have a paid vacation for 3-4 weeks within which they claim to apply for the extension. If they are unable to apply within the mentioned period then he will be sent back to India. I hold a h1b but I recently joined a new company and my H1b transfer is still pending. My previous employer's VISA expires on Jan 31, 2012. Now we are confused as to what steps can we take in this situation.
1. Is he legally allowed to stay here? If yes, what documents should be possess to prove that he is a legal resident of US.
2. Can he apply for a H4/new H1 through another employer while his H1 extension process is continued by his employer?
3. He is on a paid vacation but he has no work permit. How does this exception filing work with the payroll stuff? Will his payroll still be run?
4. What are the possible options for him to continue his stay and work here.

Any suggestions and answers will be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much in advance.

[shervin143]

My husband's H1B expired on Sept 30, 2011. His employer did not apply for an extension due to a major issue (the contract document with their client is not available due to some unknown reasons) in the company. Now his employer says that my husband's case is filed as an exception with the USCIS. So he can stay in US but not work. He will have a paid vacation for 3-4 weeks within which they claim to apply for the extension. If they are unable to apply within the mentioned period then he will be sent back to India. I hold a h1b but I recently joined a new company and my H1b transfer is still pending. My previous employer's VISA expires on Jan 31, 2012. Now we are confused as to what steps can we take in this situation.
>>> The employer is just bluffing. Once the I-94 expires, an extension / transfer or change of status is not possible. The time spend in U.S after the I-94 expiry date will be considered as illegal stay and it will cause issues later. If my guess is right, his employer should be a Desi consultancy company.

1. Is he legally allowed to stay here? If yes, what documents should be possess to prove that he is a legal resident of US.
>>> No. His stay in U.S is illegal now. The best option is to leave the country immediately. The more the illegal stay, the more the issues are. If he stays illegally for more than 180 days, he could get 3 year ban from entering U.S. If he stays illegally for more than 365 days, he will get a 10 year automatic ban from entering U.S.

2. Can he apply for a H4/new H1 through another employer while his H1 extension process is continued by his employer?
>>> Nothing is possible now with an expired I-94.

3. He is on a paid vacation but he has no work permit. How does this exception filing work with the payroll stuff? Will his payroll still be run?
>>> That doesn't matter. If he works without the work authorization and a valid I-94, then it illegal employment.

4. What are the possible options for him to continue his stay and work here.
>>> Ask him to leave the country and return back in H4 visa. Then later, his employer can file a COS from H4 to H1B and when that gets approved he can work. Alternatively, he can leave the country now. Let his employer file the H1B as a consular process and whenever it gets approved he can return back in H1B visa and start working again.