L1A Visa Renewal questions

[mathewrond]

Hi,

I have L1A Visa due to expire in Oct 2012. I am currently NOT in the US. I have a travel plan for an year in the next month. I wanted to get my visa renewed.

Can I do that in my home country or should I travel to US and then apply for renewal? Are there any chances that it would get rejected?

I am also planning to take my wife with me, she does not have any Visa as of now. Please suggest what is the best time to get her visa.

Thanks,

[shervin143]

I have L1A Visa due to expire in Oct 2012. I am currently NOT in the US. I have a travel plan for an year in the next month. I wanted to get my visa renewed.
>>> Why do you want to renew your visa (in the passport) when you already have a valid one until Oct 2012? You can use that along with your L1A approval notice to enter U.S.

Can I do that in my home country or should I travel to US and then apply for renewal? Are there any chances that it would get rejected?
>>> Petition can be extended irrespective of whether you are inside or outside U.S. If you want to get the L1A visa stamped in the passport, then you need to visit the U.S consulate with your extended petition.

I am also planning to take my wife with me, she does not have any Visa as of now. Please suggest what is the best time to get her visa.
>>> She can apply for the L2 visa at the U.S consulate based on your L1A petition anytime. Advisable to apply early so that she gets her visa by the time you are ready to leave. If there is no 221g, she will get her passport within 2 weeks from the date of visa interview. If there is a 221g issued, then no one can predict when she might get the visa.

[mathewrond]

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I wanted to renew the Visa so I don't have to follow up on I-94 extension and visa renewal when I am in the US. Is this a bad idea? or should I enter with the existing Visa and then apply for renewal when I am in the US?

[shervin143]

Visa is only an entry document to U.S. It has to be valid as of the date of your entry into U.S. Yuor I-94 will be issued based on the petition. So if you want to get an extended I-94 at the POE, then get your petition extended. Once you have the extended petition you can use the existing valid visa to enter U.S.

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I wanted to renew the Visa so I don't have to follow up on I-94 extension and visa renewal when I am in the US. Is this a bad idea? or should I enter with the existing Visa and then apply for renewal when I am in the US?

[mathewrond]

Thank you very much for the information. I am all set now.