L1B Expiring -Planned India trip and extension??

[ramkrishna322]

Hi,

I am on L1b Visa. My I-94 and Visa both are expiring on Feb-28-2013.My company is asking me to apply for extension now.But once i apply i can not travel to India.
But I have already planned to go India in the month of November and come back in same month. can i apply for extension once i come back in November? I.E just before 3months of Visa and I-94 expiry. Which is advisable? Pls suggest.

is there any advantage/disadvantage applying now vs applying in Nov?

Thanks

[raghvi]

Hi,

I am on L1b Visa. My I-94 and Visa both are expiring on Feb-28-2013.My company is asking me to apply for extension now.But once i apply i can not travel to India.
But I have already planned to go India in the month of November and come back in same month. can i apply for extension once i come back in November? I.E just before 3months of Visa and I-94 expiry. Which is advisable? Pls suggest.

is there any advantage/disadvantage applying now vs applying in Nov?

Thanks

Technically you can apply for extension now as 28 Feb-2013 is less than 6 Months away. But yeah it doesnt make sense to apply for extension and then travel, you can apply for extension once you are back. The reason why the company might not be willing to do so can be two fold....

First, when you return in Nov and and if you get I-94 till 2016, as sometimes at POE they give you blanket 3 Years I-94 validity while entering US on L1B, then you would not be able to apply extension after coming back as your I-94 would be valid for next 3 Years in, in such a case, if you need to go out of US after Feb 2013, you would need to and get a fresh stamping done before entering US again after 28-Feb-2013.

Secondly, if you leave in November and when returning in November if at POE you get an I-94 only till your Visa expiry Date i.e. 28-Feb-13 then that gives the company only 3 Months to get your extension done after returning. Considering the time its being taking USCIS to grant extensions in normal processing it might be difficult and the company would have to premium processing at extra cost.

If you file extension then advisable to travel only after a decision has been taken on the same, but if you need to travel its better to discuss pros and cons with your immigration team and then decide. This is my opinion not legal advice.

[ramkrishna322]

Thank you for your reply.

Now i have decided to apply for extension once i come back in the month of November. can i continue to stay in US after applying VISA extension till the time i get the results ? or i have to leave the country on the date of my current visa/i-94 end date?

Thanks in advance

[raghvi]

Thank you for your reply.

Now i have decided to apply for extension once i come back in the month of November. can i continue to stay in US after applying VISA extension till the time i get the results ? or i have to leave the country on the date of my current visa/i-94 end date?

Thanks in advance

As I said if you get I-94 for 3 Years you wont be able to apply for extension after coming back. In this scenario, any time you leave US after 28-Feb-2013, you will have to get a fresh stamping to be allowed to return.

In case you are granted I-94 only till feb-28-2013 and you apply for extension then your stay after 28-Feb-2013 will be considered valid only when your extension is approved. Lets assume you apply for extension 01-Dec-2012 and if for any reason your extension is denied on say 01-Apr-2013 then your stay from 28-Feb-2013 till 01-Apr-2013 will be considered illegal. To avoid this, in case I-94 is valid only till 28-Feb-2013 its advisable to file L1 extension as premium and get result quickly.

This is my opinion not legal advice.