L1B to H1B

[pxv]

I am in US and have a valid L1B Visa. I am planning on applying H1-B with COS in Apr 2014 cycle. 2 Questions

1. Is it mandatory for the H1B sponsor to give an effective date for COS when applying for H1-B?

2. I want to get my H1B but do COS only in Feb 2015. Is that do-able?

[raghvi]

I am in US and have a valid L1B Visa. I am planning on applying H1-B with COS in Apr 2014 cycle. 2 Questions

1. Is it mandatory for the H1B sponsor to give an effective date for COS when applying for H1-B?

2. I want to get my H1B but do COS only in Feb 2015. Is that do-able?

Till when is your L1 - I-94 valid?

[pxv]

I-94 validity till Sep 2015

[raghvi]

I-94 validity till Sep 2015

Technically you can request for a later start date but the H1 petition can be filed at max 6 Months before start date. So if the start date is 01-Oct-2014 the applications has to be filed on 01-Apr-2014 or later. Similarly if you want to start on 01-Feb-2015 the H1 petition is filed 01-August-2014 or later. The catch is that the H1 cap should not be filled till 01-August-2014 in order for that to happen. Seeing the recent trend the H1 Cap is expected to be filled up within a week or 10 days of 01-Apr-2014 this year so I doubt the H1 cap will be open for you till 01-August-2014 in order for a start date of 01-Feb-2015.

So, in my opinion two options are possible.

Option A. File H1 as Consular Process on 01-April-2014, if approved , file an amendment from Consular to COS around 01-Jan-2015, with a start date of 01-Feb-2015. The caveat is that its at USCIS discretion to convert an H1 petition from Consular to COS. If they approve , good, if they dont approve then in order to move to h1 you would have to leave US, go for H1 stamping at a US consulate outside US, get H1 stamped and return on H1.

Option B. File H1 as COS with start date of 01-Oct-2014. If COS approved, on or before 01-Oct-2014, leave US, and return on L1 after 01-Oct-2014 (leapfrog). Once in US on L1, apply for COS to H1 around 01-Jan-2015 with start date of 01-Feb-2015. If they approve , good, if they don't approve then in order to move to H1 you would have to leave US, go for H1 stamping at a US consulate outside US, get H1 stamped and return on H1.

This is my opinion not legal advice.