Urgent help needed - how to extend my stay in US?

[bujjigadu]

Hi, I am currently on L1B workpermit from employer A which is expiring in Oct2009. I am working in a managerial role. My employer A filed an L1A amendment and extension couple of months ago which got rejected this week. Because I have a couple of months before my petition actually expires, I am being told that I can re-apply for L1A amendement and extension again. But because it got rejected once already, I am guessing, my chances are pretty slim this time. I have a need to stay in US at least for another year and so I am trying to explore what options do I have.

Q1: I have a H1B from another employer B which I got last year. I did leapfrog last sep-oct, went to India, got my L1B from employer A stamped and came into US again. Now, if my L1 extension does not go through, how can I switch to H1B again? Should I go back to India and get my H1B stamped or can I switch to H1B staying here in the US?

Q2: can I apply for a fresh H1 through another employer C, while my L1A amendment request is being processed? Because if I wait for my L1A processing to complete, if it gets rejected, I will be required to leave the country immediately and I don't think I can apply for a fresh H1B visa at that time, right?

Q3: My current L1B petition is expiring in Oct2009 while my I-94 actually is valid until Oct2011. Does the longer validity of I-94 help me in any way? Without any other petition extension/amendement, am I allowed to stay in US beyong Oct2009?

Appreciate your suggestions very much.

[txh1b]

Why not just have your L1 employer transfer the H1b from last year and you can continue working for them? This is the least complex scenario that can help you.

[bujjigadu]

Why not just have your L1 employer transfer the H1b from last year and you can continue working for them? This is the least complex scenario that can help you.

Thank you so much for your speedy response txh1b.

I can try that option but not confident because my L1 employer is not very keen on doing L1 to H1 transfer for some reason.
If they agree to pursue this, how and when should I kick-off the transfer process?
Does this require me to leave the country to get my H1 stamped again or can I file a COS amendement sort of thing?
As I told, my L1A amendment request will be resubmitted next week. Should I wait for that to complete before I look at the H1B transfer option?

The problem is - if my L1A amendment request gets denied, my current L1B would have expired by that time and I guess I will be asked to leave the country immediately within a week or so.
Will I still be able to kick-off the H1B transfer process in such a short span?

[txh1b]

One the L1 status expires, no other transfers or COS is permitted. You should chcange over to H1b under Premium immediately to not fall out opf status. The company of course has its own goals and it does not want an employee to move out which is quite possible on a H1b.

[bujjigadu]

Thanks for your response. The fact that my I-94 is valid until Oct2011 even though my current L1B petition is expiring in Oct2009 - does this help me in any way? Without any other petition extension/amendement, am I allowed to stay in US beyond Oct2009?

Also, can I start the H1 transfer process while my L1A application is still being processed?

Sorry for too many follow-up questions. Appreciate your patience and co-operation very much.

[txh1b]

Your I-94 date seems to be a mistake. You need to have an underlying petition to support the I-94 date to not get into illegal stay/overstay problems.