L1 Visa Expiry

[kt0241]

Hi,

I have L1 Visa Valid up to Aug 2012. But when i entered in US, as my Passport was expiring in April 2012, my I-94 Date was given Valid up to only April 2012 only. I got my new passport, but ti change the date i I-94 , CBP asked me to Cross the Country and come back. but if do the same also, i have only 4months left as my Visa was expiring. So my Company is Filing for L1 Visa Extension now.But with the recent L1 Visa rejections in India, am little bit scared if my Extension would be granted or not.

Now i do have H1 Visa too ,which was expired in 2009 , September. so in any case, if my L1 extension gets rejected, can i Re-activate my Old H1 Visa ? I heard few people has done that. Could any one guide me how to Re-activate the Previous expired H1 Visa.

Thanking you,
Kalyan T.

[raghvi]

L1 Visa Expiry

It might be possible to file for a transfer of status from L1 to H1 if you have the receipt or approval notice for the H1 that expired. Before you can do that you would have to get an employer willing to employ you on this petition. Your current company or some other company should willing to file for a COS from L1 to H1. Talk to your current employer if you want to continue work with him or new employers if you want to leave current employer. If you current company is not willing to file a COS from L1 to H1 you would have to find another employer willing to do so, resign from current company, if required go for H1 stamping, and come back and work with the new employer.This is my opinion, not legal advice, please do seek expert opinion too.

[kabkaba]

You have 3 options,
1. Travel and return with L1 Visa.
2. Company files your extension and gets approved with new I-94.
3. Company files change of status to H1 using cap-exemption from previous approval.

Your I-94 will be determined by whther petition is blanket or individual and how much time you have used from the 5 or 7 year limit on your L1 or the 6 year limit on H1.

[kt0241]

Hi,

Thanx .. Option 3 would be better for me. But i do have a question. If Company is not willing to transfer my L1 to H1 , can i resign,search for a new employer and re-activate my old H1 expired Visa. This is same option as Raghvi sugegsted, Is this option open for me.

Kalyan T.

[raghvi]

L1 Visa Expiry

You would have to find the next employer much before resigning as the day you leave your current employer you would be no longer in L1 and your H1 would not have still been valid causing out of status. Find the employer, aks them to start processing your H1 Visa by providing them the approval notice of your previous H1, once the approval comes you will have to start working with them immediately from the date of approval. As you would have to give adequate notice period to your current organization too you have to time the start with the new employer, COS, visa stamping again, if required, notice period duration etc to ensure that you are in status all the while this happens. Please do discuss the way forward with the attorney of the new employer, and seek expert opinion too. Thi sis my opinion, not legal advice.

[kabkaba]

Another employer can file H1 for you, but in order to stay in the US while that is pending you must be maintaining your current L1 status and H1 change of status must be filed before your L1 I-94 expires. Also, you cannot begin working for the H1 employer until change of status to H1 gets approved.

[kt0241]

Hi,

My I-94 is expiring in April 2012 and my L1 visa extension is in Process. So do i need to change the status to H1 before this April itself ? Does it mean, after April 2012, i can not proceed with re-activating the old H1 ??Assume, by Luck, if they approve my L1 Visa extension, then wudn't it be a problem, if the status is H1.

I am looking for option, in case of my L1 Extension gets rejected.

Kalyan T.

[raghvi]

L1 Visa Expiry

1. If you want to stay with current employer and L1 visa extension gets approved, no issues, the extension may come with a new I-94, if not, will involve you to go back and get new stamping, depends upon whether it is with consular processing or not.You would get 5 Years minus the time already spent on L1 already.

2. If you want to stay with current employer, and L1 visa gets denied then you can give them the approval notice for your previously expired H1 to initiate COS from L1 to H1 before your I-94 expires, This again may come with a new I-94 or will involve you to go out of US and re enter on H1. You would get 6 Years minus the time spent on previous H1 and minus the time spent on current L1. Once COS is done you can initiate another transfer to a new employer later on.

3. If you do not want to stay with current employer, then you have to initiate the L1 to H1 transfer with your new employer before your current I94 expires by providing them with your approval notice of expired H1. This transfer again may or may not come with new I-94.You would get 6 Years minus the time spent on previous H1 and minus the time spent on current L1.


It would be best if you upgrade the current L1 extension to premium to get the result within 15 days to decide on your next steps. Based on whether it gets approved or denied you would still have time to initiate a transfer from L1 to H1 irrespective of the company. This is my opinion, please do seek help from your immigration lawyer for in depth planning based on your circumstances.