H1 Extension: Acknowledgement Notice

[namanmittal]

Highly appreciate answering my query (in advance )

My current H1-B and I-94 are valid till 13th April 2012. I have to travel to India in first week of February for a month.

My extension is being filed before I proceed with my travel. I wanted to understad the rules attached with this.

A) The H1 extension can be only filed while one is in US ?

B) After the extension is filed, the USCIS sends an acknowledgment notice which generally takes 2 to 3 weeks. Is it mandatory to have the acknowledgement notice in order to travel ? Or just the filing would suffice?

C) Even if it is not mandatory, are there any risks attached if one travels before the acknowledgment is received?

I know that I cannot come back to US until I get the extension approved. My extension might get upgraded to premium. I wanted to understand whether the application itself stands any risk from eligibility point of view.

[kabkaba]

There are two parts to the extension petition. Extension of work authorization and extension of status. Extension of status can only be done if the person is in the US at the time of filing and approval. So if you are outside of US when USCIS looks at the application, they may approve the petition without I-94 (no extension of status). The same can happen if you have returned from abroad at that time and have a new I-94 (different from the one used in filing). To avoid any complication it is advisable to return only after extension is approved. Show the new approval notice at POE and get I-94 according to extension. You don't need a new Visa if the current one is valid on the day of return.

[shervin143]

To add to the below, it is never advisable to travel when a petition is pending with USCIS. You can get into issues with multiple I-94s (Search and read the posts that discusses on this). As mentioned in the previous reply, either return back after the petition gets approved or your should plan to exit the country only after the petition gets approved. There is a premium processing which will get you the result within 15 days.

[namanmittal]

Thanks for the response. I understand that I should only return after I get the approval notice.

My concern lies with when to actually file the extension. I intend to get married on 11th February and bring my wife along with me on the dependent H4 VISA (after my extension is approved that is).
My VISA application is yet to be filed and it will be filed around 24th of January after receiving the certified LCA from DOL.
Initially my employers agreed to file my VISA on Premium upgrade so that by the time my vacation is over my extension gets approved and I am able to return by the end of February.
Now they are asking me to go back to India, get married, return to US and then file extension.
The reason they are giving is that on filing extension USCIS returns an acknowledgment receipt, and the employee needs to have the receipt number only then he can travel to India. Since the receipt number for application comes after 2 to 3 weeks, I may not get it before 4th or 5th Feb (my travel date).

The problem is that if I file extension after coming back, it will be filed under normal processing only. Which means that my wife will have to wait in India for another 4-5 months.

For this reason, I wanted to check if I can go to India if my extension is filed but receipt for acknowledgement is not received from USCIS.

My Work permits’ validity: 13th April 2012
I-94 validity: 13th April 2012

[kabkaba]

Your company is correct about the final conclusion (although the receipt notice has nothing to do with it). Either file now in premium or file after returning.
In the meanwhile, your wife can always apply for her H4 Visa using the current petition approval notice. It will expire in April (and so will her I-94 when she arrives), but her extension of status can be filed along with yours when she arrives in US.