L1B to Green Card in EB2 Catagory

[gogreen]

Hello All,

Indian, currently in L1-B visa (completed 2.5 years in US), visa is expired; I-94 is valid till 2015 Aug. Is that still possible to apply green card through my company in EB-2 catagory and can I continue my stay in US. If this is possible, approximately how many years I need to stay without visiting my home country and approximately how much time it would take to get the green card.

If L1-B to GC (in EB2) is not a possible option, can I switch to H1-B and then apply green card in EB2 ? Do you think the max period of stay in US will be problem here in applying GC in EB2 ?

[raghvi]

Hello All,

Indian, currently in L1-B visa (completed 2.5 years in US), visa is expired; I-94 is valid till 2015 Aug. Is that still possible to apply green card through my company in EB-2 catagory and can I continue my stay in US. If this is possible, approximately how many years I need to stay without visiting my home country and approximately how much time it would take to get the green card.

If L1-B to GC (in EB2) is not a possible option, can I switch to H1-B and then apply green card in EB2 ? Do you think the max period of stay in US will be problem here in applying GC in EB2 ?

You technically need not be on either L1 or H1 to apply GC. So I would say yes, it is possible to apply GC in EB2 even at this stage. What is more important is on what visa are you going to stay and work in US while your GC is pending.

What is your country of birth? As that will determine what is your wait period for the GC.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[gogreen]

You technically need not be on either L1 or H1 to apply GC. So I would say yes, it is possible to apply GC in EB2 even at this stage. What is more important is on what visa are you going to stay and work in US while your GC is pending.

What is your country of birth? As that will determine what is your wait period for the GC.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for the reply raghvi. I am born in India, since I already completed 2.5 years in L1b; I am afraid even if GC is applied tomorrow and change to H1, it takes 4.5 years to get the stage where I can renew H1b every year (I assume it's PERM stage) and by the time I will get maxed out for my stay?

I am thinking 2.5 +4.5=7 where H1b is only 6 Years max...

[raghvi]

It does not take PERM 4.5 Years to approve. But yes, under EB2 for India you are looking at a wait of 7-10 years to get GC. To stay in US during this wait period, you need a valid visa. L1B can be at max for 5 years (3 Years + 2 Years if extension approved). L1A can be at max 7 Years (3+2+2, if extensions approved). So in order to stay for the long wait period you need to move to H1 eventually.

To move to H1 your employer can file H1 in April 2015. But as your I-94 is expiring in Aug 2015, you would need to file L1 extension too.

I think we have already discussed this at length in your other post http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...089#post344089.

Which part you seem most confused about? Do you have any specific query not already answered there?

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[gogreen]

It does not take PERM 4.5 Years to approve. But yes, under EB2 for India you are looking at a wait of 7-10 years to get GC. To stay in US during this wait period, you need a valid visa. L1B can be at max for 5 years (3 Years + 2 Years if extension approved). L1A can be at max 7 Years (3+2+2, if extensions approved). So in order to stay for the long wait period you need to move to H1 eventually.

To move to H1 your employer can file H1 in April 2015. But as your I-94 is expiring in Aug 2015, you would need to file L1 extension too.

I think we have already discussed this at length in your other post http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...089#post344089.

Which part you seem most confused about? Do you have any specific query not already answered there?

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Hi Raghvi,

Thanks for the kindly reply..... I remember our discussion in other thread, little confused here about EB2 on following points. Based on EB2, following are the stages in GC

Stage 1 : PERM/Labor Certification Stage

under impression that PERM Labor Approval : 2 to 8 months appx.

Stage 2: I-140 Immigrant Petition Stage

under impression this would take around 4 -4.5 years appx. as per today's status, Once I-140 is approved; ONLY THEN we can start renewing the H1B every year even if 6 year total (L1b + H1b) period is completed.

This is the most confusing part (under impression that we can extend H1B stay beyond 6 years only when I-140 is approved) : - Since I already completed 2.5 years in L1B, when I reach this stage my stay will become 6.5 to 7 years (4 (H1B)+2.5 (L1B)) appx. Will this be a problem for GC processing (in EB2) and continue in US ?

State 3: I-485 Adjustment of Status Stage

In this stage members in family (in my case both me and my wife) will get EAD with advance parole and both will start working on EAD basis. Assuming my spouse need to wait for 4.5 years to start working again once I am in H1 (assuming GC process started immediately after OCT 1 2015 - new H1B period). Once EAD with advance parol is received we both can visit India (meaning we cannot not go to India till we reach this stage to continue GC processing without consulate processing)

[raghvi]

Hi Raghvi,

Thanks for the kindly reply..... I remember our discussion in other thread, little confused here about EB2 on following points. Based on EB2, following are the stages in GC

Stage 1 : PERM/Labor Certification Stage

under impression that PERM Labor Approval : 2 to 8 months appx.

Stage 2: I-140 Immigrant Petition Stage

under impression this would take around 4 -4.5 years appx. as per today's status, Once I-140 is approved; ONLY THEN we can start renewing the H1B every year even if 6 year total (L1b + H1b) period is completed.

This is the most confusing part (under impression that we can extend H1B stay beyond 6 years only when I-140 is approved) : - Since I already completed 2.5 years in L1B, when I reach this stage my stay will become 6.5 to 7 years (4 (H1B)+2.5 (L1B)) appx. Will this be a problem for GC processing (in EB2) and continue in US ?

State 3: I-485 Adjustment of Status Stage

In this stage members in family (in my case both me and my wife) will get EAD with advance parole and both will start working on EAD basis. Assuming my spouse need to wait for 4.5 years to start working again once I am in H1 (assuming GC process started immediately after OCT 1 2015 - new H1B period). Once EAD with advance parol is received we both can visit India (meaning we cannot not go to India till we reach this stage to continue GC processing without consulate processing)

Few corrections to your assumptions:
Stage 2: As I said, it does not take 4-5 Years I140 approval. Generally PERM + I140 takes 8-12 Months. Also, its not that H1 can only be extended if I140 is approved, H1 can also be extended if PERM pending for more than 365 days.
Stage 3: I485, AOS and EAD for you and your spouse can only be done when your priority date is current. Which as per current wait times, is around 9 Years wait.

Now, I believe you are mixing way too many things here; H1, L1, EB2, EAD, I485, I140, AOS, Advance Parole, travel out and that is why its too overwhelming for you. I would say you take things few steps at a time.

I140, I485, EAD, AP, AOS are not in your control currently so no need to fret over them now.

You first need to understand, if you dont get L1 extension you would have to leave US because your I-94 is expiring in Aug 2015.

What you need to get going is H1 paperwork to be filed by your employer in April 2015, L1 extension paperwork to be filed before I-94 expiry, and GC filing by employer under EB2. I would suggest you get your employer to start on all these simultaneously.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[goeld83]

L1B to Green card

Hi Raghvi,

I have been reading through your posts for a long time and have found them really helpful. I have few queries specific to my situation and if you can help, that will be great.

I am currently on L1B (Individual) visa in USA. I came to USA in June 2012. I got an extension for another 2 years till February 2017 (same as I-94). Also in 2013, I went to India for 2 months vacation.

My project is trying to explore options wherein I can extend my stay in USA beyond February 2017 due to project requirements. I need your help in getting few clarification on the questions below.

1. Since in Feb 2017, I would be completing 4 years 8 months of stay in USA, is it possible to file another L1B extension in 2017 before the expiry of my petition in Feb
2017. This should give me another 4 months of stay in USA.
2. Can we apply to recapture the time of 2 month of stay outside the USA while I was on vacation in India in 2013. If yes, can I stay in USA until August 2017 if my L1B
extension is filed and approved as stated in point 1 above?
3. Is there an option of filing a change of status (COS) from L1B to H1B in next year quota for 2017 (not 2016)? If yes, when can I apply for the COS and how long does it
takes to get approved?
4. If my COS is approved as stated in point 3 above, will my H1B visa be effective from 1st October 2017? If yes, there will a gap of 2 months between the time my L1B 5
years completion (August 2017) and start of H1B (1st October 2017), so do I need to go back to India for 2 months and come back again after visa stamping?
5. If I go ahead with Green card filing, can I extend my stay in USA even after completing my 5 years on L1B visa (provided my PERM and I-140 gets approved by March
2017)?
6. Is it a good time to apply for my GC considering that 1.5 years of maximum stay is pending for me on my current L1B visa or am I late in applying for GC?
7. If I apply for my GC now but my PERM or I-140 doesn’t get approved before completing my 5 years on L1B, will I get an extension to stay beyond 5 years or do I have
to go back to India? Once I go back to India, will my GC process continue or will it be stopped?

Thanks.