H1B petition with Cancelled passport?

[sabhishek]

My Fiancee just applied for her passport renewal. It turns out it would take about a month for the new passport to be issued. At the time of application, the passport office has marked her current passport as Cancelled, even though it is valid till Nov. 2012.

In the meantime, her employer is looking to file a H1 Petition for her, using premium processing. Her passport number needs to be provided for the Petition.

- Can she provide her now cancelled passport number for the petition?

- Can she use the old passport number to schedule an appointment for H1B stamping, if her new passport doesnt arrive by then? She will carry both new and old passports when going for in-person interview at US consulate.

Pointers appreciated.

[sabhishek]

I-129 with explanation for cancelled passport

BTW, the I-129 instructions suggest that a valid passport is required. However, if passport is not valid then an explanation can be provided.

[shervin143]

It is never advisable to file the petition with a cancelled passport.

[sabhishek]

Shervin, Could you elaborate more?

We do not want to wait for another month to file an H1 petition. One of the reasons is that H1 Cap may be exhausted by then.
What sort of issues might come up, if the petition is applied for with cancelled passport, along with an explanation about pending renewal?

Thanks!

[shervin143]

Well, you can try. There are chances that the petition might get denied based in the fact that there is no 100 guarantee for USCIS to believe that you might get the passport approved (renewed) without any issues. Whether the employer want to spend money and take a chance is up to them.

Shervin, Could you elaborate more?

We do not want to wait for another month to file an H1 petition. One of the reasons is that H1 Cap may be exhausted by then.
What sort of issues might come up, if the petition is applied for with cancelled passport, along with an explanation about pending renewal?

Thanks!