L1A Extension while having Valid Visa

[kalpeshpatel19]

My L1A visa is valid till 2nd week of April'15. I am planning to file an extension in Nov'14 by premium processing. I am planning to visit India in Jan'15 and will reenter USA in first week of Feb'15. So when I reenter in Feb'15 I will have valid visa stamping till 2nd week of Apr'15 from the original petition. Meanwhile I will be filling an extension in Nov'14 and say that my petition is extended for another two year till 2017. So I have following questions.

1. Suppose if I do not file L1A extension in Nov'14 and visit India in Jan'15 and reenter USA in first week of Fab'15, will there be any problem in reentry as my visa is expiring in 2nd week of Aprl'15 and I have visa which is valid for only another 2 and half months after my reentry?

2. If I file an extension in Nov'14, and if the same is approved. Does my original visa which is expiring in 2nd week of April'15 will still be valid after extension? I heard that once the extension is approved in Nov'14, the original valid visa will be voided and if I leave the country in Jan'15 after the extension, I have to go for stamping in India before coming back to USA in Feb'15 even though I have a valid visa from original petition till 2nd week of April'15. Is it true?

3. If I file an extension in Nov'14, and if the same is not approved. Does my original visa which is expiring in 2nd week of April'15 will still be valid till April'15 even though the extension is not approved? In this case if I leave the country in Jan'15 and reenter USA in Feb'15 with valid original visa till 2nd week of April'15 even though the extension is not approved, will there be any problem?

[raghvi]

My L1A visa is valid till 2nd week of April'15. I am planning to file an extension in Nov'14 by premium processing. I am planning to visit India in Jan'15 and will reenter USA in first week of Feb'15. So when I reenter in Feb'15 I will have valid visa stamping till 2nd week of Apr'15 from the original petition. Meanwhile I will be filling an extension in Nov'14 and say that my petition is extended for another two year till 2017. So I have following questions.

1. Suppose if I do not file L1A extension in Nov'14 and visit India in Jan'15 and reenter USA in first week of Fab'15, will there be any problem in reentry as my visa is expiring in 2nd week of Aprl'15 and I have visa which is valid for only another 2 and half months after my reentry?

2. If I file an extension in Nov'14, and if the same is approved. Does my original visa which is expiring in 2nd week of April'15 will still be valid after extension? I heard that once the extension is approved in Nov'14, the original valid visa will be voided and if I leave the country in Jan'15 after the extension, I have to go for stamping in India before coming back to USA in Feb'15 even though I have a valid visa from original petition till 2nd week of April'15. Is it true?

3. If I file an extension in Nov'14, and if the same is not approved. Does my original visa which is expiring in 2nd week of April'15 will still be valid till April'15 even though the extension is not approved? In this case if I leave the country in Jan'15 and reenter USA in Feb'15 with valid original visa till 2nd week of April'15 even though the extension is not approved, will there be any problem?

Extension means requesting extension of stay, it loses its meaning when you apply for it and leave US. As you no longer are in US then what is the extension request for? Are you planning to apply in premium?

Any particular reason why you dont want to apply extension after returning back in Feb 2015?

[kalpeshpatel19]

Extension means requesting extension of stay, it loses its meaning when you apply for it and leave US. As you no longer are in US then what is the extension request for? Are you planning to apply in premium?

Any particular reason why you dont want to apply extension after returning back in Feb 2015?

I heard that, when we reenter USA with short validity of visa which is 2 and half months in my case, there might be problem at Port of Entry (POE) while reentry and hence I want to apply for extension before I leave USA, so that I can show the extension letter at POE in case of any problem. Also I am not sure if this is true.

Yes, I am planning to apply for the extension in Premium processing.

Still I do not know the status of my valid visa which is expiring in Apr'15 after getting the extension. Is that visa is still valid till Apr'15 after getting the extension letter or I have to get resampling in India in Feb'15 even though I have a valid visa from original petition till 2nd week of April'15?

[raghvi]

If you are applying L1 extension in premium in Nov then you should most probably get the decision by Dec end that is before your travel. The issue I see is upon your team entry in Feb the officer might give you an I 94 only till April as that's when your visa is expiring. In that case you would need to apply extension again. I would suggest you apply for extension only after returning back.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[kalpeshpatel19]

If you are applying L1 extension in premium in Nov then you should most probably get the decision by Dec end that is before your travel. The issue I see is upon your team entry in Feb the officer might give you an I 94 only till April as that's when your visa is expiring. In that case you would need to apply extension again. I would suggest you apply for extension only after returning back.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for your response

But if I apply for extension after returning back, do you see any problem at the time of reentry in Feb'15 due to short visa validity (visa expires in Apr'15) of 2 and half month only after reentry?

[raghvi]

No I don't see any issues.

This is my opinion not legal advice.