L1 expiring - what are my options

[sg050287]

Hello everyone,
Here is my situation -my L1B visa/I-94 expires in march 30, 2013. my company didnt apply for extension yet. my husband is on H1B.

I would expect my company to file extension in premium before march. What if they did not apply for premium.

If i resign my company while extn is in process and apply for H4, will L1 extn be cancelled and USCIS consider H4 COS application?

Also If i want to apply for H1 by new employer what is the best time?

Please advice me the best option, i dont want travel out of the country in 2013.

Many thanks in advance!!

[raghvi]

First of all delaying filing of extension till last moment puts you in risk of being at the mercy of an approval to remain in valid status. Further, not filing in premium even in the last moments puts you more in risk.

USCIS allows filing for status change/extension up to 6 Months before I-94 expiry so why not make use of this time.

In your case if you dont get an L1 extension approved or convert to H4 before your I-94 expiry then if L1 extension gets denied after your I-94 expiry then you will be out of status and wont be able to convert to H4 too and would have to leave US.

You should convert to H4 before your last day on L1. In case you resign, L1 extension request will automatically be invalid as you would no longer be on L1 status.

In order for you to apply for new H1 and avoid leaving US in 2013 you have two options:

a. Get L1 extension approved before your current I-94 expiry , and file for L1 to H1 as a COS when cap opens on 01-Apr-2013. If H1 COS is approved you would get on H1 from 01-Oct-2013 without having to leave US.
b. Resign from your L1 employer and convert to H4 before last working day and before I-94 expiry and before H1 cap opens to file a H4 to H1 as a COS when H1 cap opens on 01-Apr-2013. If H1 COS is approved you would get on H1 from 01-Oct-2013 without having to leave US.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[sg050287]

First of all delaying filing of extension till last moment puts you in risk of being at the mercy of an approval to remain in valid status. Further, not filing in premium even in the last moments puts you more in risk.

USCIS allows filing for status change/extension up to 6 Months before I-94 expiry so why not make use of this time.

In your case if you dont get an L1 extension approved or convert to H4 before your I-94 expiry then if L1 extension gets denied after your I-94 expiry then you will be out of status and wont be able to convert to H4 too and would have to leave US.

You should convert to H4 before your last day on L1. In case you resign, L1 extension request will automatically be invalid as you would no longer be on L1 status.

In order for you to apply for new H1 and avoid leaving US in 2013 you have two options:

a. Get L1 extension approved before your current I-94 expiry , and file for L1 to H1 as a COS when cap opens on 01-Apr-2013. If H1 COS is approved you would get on H1 from 01-Oct-2013 without having to leave US.
b. Resign from your L1 employer and convert to H4 before last working day and before I-94 expiry and before H1 cap opens to file a H4 to H1 as a COS when H1 cap opens on 01-Apr-2013. If H1 COS is approved you would get on H1 from 01-Oct-2013 without having to leave US.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks a lot!! Just one more question:
can i do this - apply for H4 before a week of I-94 expired (on march 31) and apply for H1 around Apr 3.
I heard H4 approval takes around 2 months?. does this has any issues?

[raghvi]

Thanks a lot!! Just one more question:
can i do this - apply for H4 before a week of I-94 expired (on march 31) and apply for H1 around Apr 3.
I heard H4 approval takes around 2 months?. does this has any issues?

It can get complicated. What would you apply H1 as? As you mentioned you dont want to leave US then in that case H1 should be applied as L1 to H1 COS or H4 to H1 COS. At the same time to remain in valid status beyond your L1 I-94 expiry you would file an L1 to H4 COS for the period 31-Mar-2013 till H1 start date. Its never a good thing to have multiple COS pending with USCIS and since COS to H4 doesnt have any premium processing one never knows whether your L1 to H4 or L1 to H1 or H4 to H1 gets approved first.

Theoretically you should be able to use the L1 to H4 receipt to file H4 to H1 from 01-Oct-2013 but you would need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney to confirm that.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[sg050287]

It can get complicated. What would you apply H1 as? As you mentioned you dont want to leave US then in that case H1 should be applied as L1 to H1 COS or H4 to H1 COS. At the same time to remain in valid status beyond your L1 I-94 expiry you would file an L1 to H4 COS for the period 31-Mar-2013 till H1 start date. Its never a good thing to have multiple COS pending with USCIS and since COS to H4 doesnt have any premium processing one never knows whether your L1 to H4 or L1 to H1 or H4 to H1 gets approved first.

Theoretically you should be able to use the L1 to H4 receipt to file H4 to H1 from 01-Oct-2013 but you would need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney to confirm that.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for your response again! To make it simple, lets assume I work only till last date of I-94 expiry(no point of L1 - H1).
With this assumption, I can apply for L1- H4 COS (from Mar 31st) some time in Jan 2013. On April 1st 2013 I will apply for H1 from H4. What do you say?
Please throw your comments.

[raghvi]

Thanks for your response again! To make it simple, lets assume I work only till last date of I-94 expiry(no point of L1 - H1).
With this assumption, I can apply for L1- H4 COS (from Mar 31st) some time in Jan 2013. On April 1st 2013 I will apply for H1 from H4. What do you say?
Please throw your comments.

That could be possible. I think you can do a COS from L1 to H4 with a future dated H4 effective date.

A similar post can be found here : http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...er-H1-Approved.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[sg050287]

That could be possible. I think you can do a COS from L1 to H4 with a future dated H4 effective date.

A similar post can be found here : http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...er-H1-Approved.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thank you. I was thinking on my options. As mentioned, Lets say i apply for H4 now and after a month can my employer files for L1B extension? In case if it is delayed (beyond march I-94 expiry), can I still resign the company? which means my H4 will not have any impact right? I just want to be on safer side (in status).

Also - Is this any impact on the above plan if I change to a new project for a new client and location with the same employer?

Thanks for all your comments.

[raghvi]

Thank you. I was thinking on my options. As mentioned, Lets say i apply for H4 now and after a month can my employer files for L1B extension? In case if it is delayed (beyond march I-94 expiry), can I still resign the company? which means my H4 will not have any impact right? I just want to be on safer side (in status).

Also - Is this any impact on the above plan if I change to a new project for a new client and location with the same employer?

Thanks for all your comments.

If you want to be safest in terms of status, then suggest to file L1 extension in premium immediately, so that even if with RFE, and quick reply to the RFE you should be able to get the decision by the time your I-94 expires, and if rejected move to H4.

The move to new client and location at this juncture will only delay this process and will give very little time subsequently to file L1 extension

Advisable not to file multiple petitions with USCIS at the same time.

This is my opinion not legal advice.