I94 'Admit Until Date' past L1B 'petition end date'

USA L1, L2 Visa
1

Hi,
I have some queries regarding my stay in the US with my L1B visa.

Below are the various dates linked to my current Visa & Stay in the US.

L1B Visa received: Dec 2013
L1B Visa Expiry: Dec 2018 (got it for 5 yrs)
Petition End Date: Jan 2017 (~3 yrs from Visa Start Date)
Date of Travel to US: Jan 2015
I94 Admit Until Date: Jan 2018 (3 yrs from my date of arrival in US and 1 yr more than the Petition End date)

My dependents(wife & 3 yr old) are having the above dates same as mine as we got the visa at the same time and travelled together.

Below are the facts that I learnt by browsing online(correct me if I am wrong on any):

  • I understand that I need to ask my employer to file for L1B petition extension 6 months before the petition expiry.
  • I understand that I can’t stay in the US without filing a L1B extension after the current Petition end date Jan 2017, even though I have a valid I94 till Jan 2018.Confirm pls.
  • I understand I can’t come back into the US with my current visa if I travel outside the US after the current Petition date (Jan 2017), unless I got my petition extended before the petition expiry.

Below are my questions:

  1. Consider my petition extension request filed by my employer gets rejected - Does that mean I cannot legally work in the US after my current petition expiry (Jan 2017) though my current I94 will still be valid till Jan 2018?
    I read in some forum that I am not suppose to legally work in the US without a valid petition (which will be the case after Jan 2017 till Jan 2018)
  2. Consider I am sending my family members to India this June on a 2 month trip and when they come back they would mostly get a I94 Admit until Date until Jan 2017 (petition end date). What are the possibilities of getting that corrected until my I94 Admit until date?
    I tried calling the CBP today and they informed me that they may not be able to extend since there is no valid petition after Jan 2017 for me.
  3. Do anyone have any clue about the possibilities of I94 petition approval nowadays for Indian IT firms? I worried on the outcome when my application goes for the approval this year.
2

#1. You are allowed to work beyond Jan 2017 provided an extension petition is pending. It is against the law to stop you from working specially with a valid visa and I-94 record. Please check the source of information you have cited above. Is it a lawyer firm that has stated this?

#2. The family’s new I-94 admit date will match with visa dates (2018) and not petition date (2017). The petition date is relevant for you, not your dependents. CBP might issue an I-94 with 2017 date for primary petitioner but they go only by visa dates for dependents.

#3. Don’t worry - you will be approved. India is very well respected.

Best wishes

Dr. Sandeep Shankar,

hopehumanityATgmailDOTcom;

wwwDOThopeforhumanityglobalDOTorg

3

Thanks much Sandeep.
The source of information is from some online forum which may not be completely correct.
I do hope that it gets approved. I will update here on how it goes…