I went to Mumbai consulate for my H1B stamping. It was done and when I saw the visa, it was approved only for 1 year. Then I checked my I797B and found that the validity was only for one year there.
My question is why my I797B shows one year validity for my H1B whereas my employer filed for 3 years? Is it a mistake by USIC in my I797B?
What should I do in an order to extend my I797B? Do I need to pay fees again?
If I go for extension, how much years of validity I will get now? 2 years or 3 years?
If application clearly does not establish that beneficiary has specialty work available to him for the requested duration then officer may give approval for less years. This could be the reason in your case. Did you submit end client letter which had start date and end date mentioned and duration was 3 years?
Sometimes even if papers are fine, USCIS provide approval for one or two years.
I would suggest do not worry for extension right now. Travel to US on this and apply for extension when it is about to expire. Your employer would pay the fees for extension. Duration will depend on what papers you submit when applying for extension.
Be Happy. Atleast you got H1B petition and stamping approved. This is a reason to celebrate.
Thank you so much for your answer. I checked my LCA, I129S and everywhere my employer had mentioned 3 years as my project duration.
I also talked to my employer and they said not to worry about as they will file for the extension once I will be there. Even they also did not look at the date in my I797B. And even if they had seen it, they couldn’t have done anything as it is not under their control. The problem that my parents saw the date on visa stamp and they were kind of worried as it mentioned 1 year only. Going to USA is big decision for me and my family. I am leaving behind good job. So from that point of view their concerns are also valid.
I still though have couple of more concerns.
1.) How hard is to get H1B extension?
2.) Say I travel to USA in December, 2012 and as my I797B has date upto Sept,2013, it is more likely that I will get same date on my I94. So when I will go to DMV for my driving license, I will get license upto sept 2013. Now, say my H1B extension gets approved then how should I get extension in my driving license? This is very important I will be having my family there (my wife and my kid). Please try to answer me this question if you have any knowledge.
H1 extension is comparatively easier to get. But no one can guarantee anything or provide definite answer to this.
I do not have information on your second doubt. Someone else from this forum can provide an answer. But as far as i know, if you get driving license then there should not be any problem in getting it extended unless you have bad history there.
For second question, my visa is valid till Sep 2015 but my US license is valid till 2017. Though license has status check mentioned which is Sep 2015. So when I get extension approved, I may have to go to DMV with papers.
If you get driving license same as visa, then no worry. When your extend the visa, you can go to DMV office and get your driving license extended too. In US, these things are fairly simple to get done.