Length of stay on L1-Blanket

[amitsharma2109]

Hi,


I am L1-Blanket Visa.

I received my First L1-B visa in March 2008 till March, 2011. I came to US in May of 2008. In March 2011 i went back to India any my company filed a fresh L1-Blanket.
In a month i received a new L1-Blanket visa for 3 years - till March, 2014. I came back to US - in April, 2011.

Over these 5.5 years i was on vacation for over all 16 weeks.

1.How long can i stay on L1-Blanket Visa?
2. Is it a rule to stay only for 5 years? Can i stay till my visa end - March 2014 or should i leave as soon as possible?

ALSO my company has filed H1-B for me. I have been selecetd in Lottery as well.
If my H1-B gets approved than

1. Will my Visa be changed from L1-B to H1-B visa immediatley or once i go back to India (or outside US) and get fresh stamp than only my H1-B will start.

2. Once i get H1-b visa approved can i stay further - till the length of H1-B visa or i have to go as i have completed 5+ years on L1-b and stay in India for 1 year and than come back on h1-b?

[raghvi]

Hi,


I am L1-Blanket Visa.

I received my First L1-B visa in March 2008 till March, 2011. I came to US in May of 2008. In March 2011 i went back to India any my company filed a fresh L1-Blanket.
In a month i received a new L1-Blanket visa for 3 years - till March, 2014. I came back to US - in April, 2011.

Over these 5.5 years i was on vacation for over all 16 weeks.

1.How long can i stay on L1-Blanket Visa?
2. Is it a rule to stay only for 5 years? Can i stay till my visa end - March 2014 or should i leave as soon as possible?

ALSO my company has filed H1-B for me. I have been selecetd in Lottery as well.
If my H1-B gets approved than

1. Will my Visa be changed from L1-B to H1-B visa immediatley or once i go back to India (or outside US) and get fresh stamp than only my H1-B will start.

2. Once i get H1-b visa approved can i stay further - till the length of H1-B visa or i have to go as i have completed 5+ years on L1-b and stay in India for 1 year and than come back on h1-b?

One Can stay for Max 5 Years on L1B. The time is counted as the total physical stay in US. So if you came in on L1B in May 2008, you can be in US on L1B till May 2013 if all the stay is in US. If during this period if you stay outside US for some time that time can be recaptured. For example, if between May 2008 till May 2013 you were out of US for 16 Weeks, you can recapture those 16 Weeks. So technically you should be safe to stay till May 2013 + 16 weeks Around August End, exact number of days would need to be calculated as per your entry and exit records. But, you cannot stay till March 2014 even if you have a valid visa till then.
You should not have got the visa till March 2014. They sometimes make mistakes. Don't try to benefit from their mistake. They will eventually find out and correct it, making you illegal retroactively if you stay more than the allowed 5 years on L1 this will potentially cause RFEs/221Gs and additional Admin processing during future visas.

As for L1 to H1 Change of Status, you will automatically move to H1 from H1 start date if your company had filed L1 to H1 as COS. If it was filed as consular processing or gets approved as consular processing, you will move to H1 only after getting H1 stamped at a consulate outside US.

L1+H1 together Max continuous stay (without a 1 Year gap in between) can be Max 6 Years. As you have already spent 5 Years in US, you most likely can spend only 1 more year on H1. After that you will have to leave US for 1 Year re file H1/L1, go for new stamping and then re enterUS. The only way to avoid that is to have your GC filed. But as your 5 Year period has ended the only other way would be to get I140 approved within next 1 Year.

There are lot of parameters in your case. Would recommend discussing with a good immigration attorney of your own in order to evaluate your current stay, change to H1 and stay beyond 6 Years options.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[amitsharma2109]

Hi,


I am L1-Blanket Visa.

I received my First L1-B visa in March 2008 till March, 2011. I came to US in May of 2008. In March 2011 i went back to India any my company filed a fresh L1-Blanket.
In a month i received a new L1-Blanket visa for 3 years - till March, 2014. I came back to US - in April, 2011.

Over these 5.5 years i was on vacation for over all 16 weeks.

1.How long can i stay on L1-Blanket Visa?
2. Is it a rule to stay only for 5 years? Can i stay till my visa end - March 2014 or should i leave as soon as possible?

ALSO my company has filed H1-B for me. I have been selecetd in Lottery as well.
If my H1-B gets approved than

1. Will my Visa be changed from L1-B to H1-B visa immediatley or once i go back to India (or outside US) and get fresh stamp than only my H1-B will start.

2. Once i get H1-b visa approved can i stay further - till the length of H1-B visa or i have to go as i have completed 5+ years on L1-b and stay in India for 1 year and than come back on h1-b?

Thanks a lot for your expert advice. I will be talking to my immigration team.