What if L1B extension processing time takes more than 120 days after I-94 expiry?

[abhush]

Current situation:
L1 B VISA expiry - April,2013
I-94 expiry - May, 2013
Planning to file extension - March, 2013

I want to understand if the processing time exceeds 120 days after my May,2013 I-94 expiry and I get a rejection;

1) Leave US in 10-15 days, is that correct? or, is there any other time frame to leave the country?
2) Will it effect my future VISA applications?

[raghvi]

Current situation:
L1 B VISA expiry - April,2013
I-94 expiry - May, 2013
Planning to file extension - March, 2013

I want to understand if the processing time exceeds 120 days after my May,2013 I-94 expiry and I get a rejection;

1) Leave US in 10-15 days, is that correct? or, is there any other time frame to leave the country?
2) Will it effect my future VISA applications?

Technically you can stay 240 days if your extension is filed before your I-94 expiry but USCIS still considers this period as out of status period.

1. If there is rejection you should leave within the time mentioned in the rejection notice.
2. If your extension was filed timely it should not affect your future visa applications. But if I were you I would avoid/minimize the out of status period.

But if there is a rejection and if you leave 120 Days after May 2013 i.e. around 4 Months from may 2013 around September 2013, on what visa will you come back? If you apply L1 again outside US it will most probably be rejected again. And H1 cap will be over by that time, you would be able to apply H1 only in April 2014 with start date possibility of 01-Oct-2014 or later only. So think about the options.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[abhush]

Technically you can stay 240 days if your extension is filed before your I-94 expiry but USCIS still considers this period as out of status period.

1. If there is rejection you should leave within the time mentioned in the rejection notice.
2. If your extension was filed timely it should not affect your future visa applications. But if I were you I would avoid/minimize the out of status period.

But if there is a rejection and if you leave 120 Days after May 2013 i.e. around 4 Months from may 2013 around September 2013, on what visa will you come back? If you apply L1 again outside US it will most probably be rejected again. And H1 cap will be over by that time, you would be able to apply H1 only in April 2014 with start date possibility of 01-Oct-2014 or later only. So think about the options.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for the reply. I didn't mean I want to come back to US immediately; my concern was if I ever again apply for US VISA then will it effect at that time?
And talking about applying the new L1 again, are they still getting rejected? What about the extensions; is the rejection rate still high like last year?

[raghvi]

If you leave timely after the rejection I doubt it will have any negative impact on any future visa stampings. Of course if you deliberately stay longer even after rejection, stay illegally you can be questioned.

New L1 rejection was based on the hypothetical situation that your L1 extension is rejected in US. If it was rejected while in US you would need extra solid reason and documentation to get it approved while outside US. Also, its not that extensions are getting rejected, there are success stories too.

This is my opinion not legal advice.