Hi,
Mine is slightly co complicated story so please bear with me and give me your valuable feedback.
I repatriated back to my home country company and my emoyment status for the US country company (same) shows Terminated.
But as im still in employment for the same company at my home country, my L1 Visa is still valid till Jan 2018 and wasnt cancelled. Confirmedby my company.
I re-entered US back (on my own accord, not company based) on the same L1 visa and got through customs and immigration in US.
Now my question is can you please tell me can I apply for H1 visa for 2017 quota on my current case and being on L1 visa.
I plan not to submit any payslips.
If my H1 pplication goes through will there be an enquiry with my US company regarding my employment status even though my L1 visa is valid till Jan 2018 and even though I am still an employee of the same company at my home country.
Can you please tell me if what are risks and if this fraudulent and what are issues.
Thanks in advance.
You can apply for H1B, there should be no issues with it.
You may have to submit, if the attorney asks for it.
If you are filing H1 through a another company for a new job, nobody will contact your current employer regarding your H1 application. USCIS only contacts employer who applied H1 on behalf of you.
Can you please tell me I intend to be in US Till May 2017 as my L1 is still valid but Im still an employee of my home company and not US company and will not be paid US Salary. Will this come under USCIS scanner.
As per say Im out of work in US but still continue to remain here will it create a problem in my subsequent H1 visa interviews. If I get my H1 2017 my plan is to return in Aug 2017 on B1 visa then do a transfer to H1 in US.
Will my lack of payment in US later.
Awaiting your valuable inputs
Something is really wrong in your case, you cannot work in USA on L1 be paid in home country. This may really cause issues to you or your employer in future. One way or another, yes it will become an issue !
I seriously can’t understand how you manage with salary being credited in home country. Just think, you work here, you live here and you are not paying any taxes here at all for the work your doing.
You need to have a job and be paid in order to remain in USA. In case you loose your job here on L1, you will have to move out of USA as soon as possible before you go out of status and become illegal. You may get some days as grace period, for you to wrap up your stuff and move out of the country.
Lets wait for Saurabh to respond on what he thinks.
Hello,
Thanks for you reply.
I dont per se work here.
I have taken a leave of absence from my home country and I need to continue in US for sometime due to some family issues.
My US company shows my status Terminated as I have been repatriated back to my home country per their records.
But my L1 visa will not be revoked as Im still an employee of the same company in my home country and my L1 visa is valid till March 2018. To be honest my company is not aware of this.
Now can you please clarify
Will this impact my if I try to Apply for H1. My last US salary drawn was in mid September. It is very Important that I must be able to apply for H1.
If I continue in US and do not get paid in US salary will it come under the scanner of USCIS even though my visa is valid. I had confirmed and was told if we are on extended Leave of Absence on L1and do not get paid it does not impact my Visa.
Can I continue to remain under the circumstances till May 2017.
Entering USA on L1B visa, without the knowledge of your employer is the wrong way of doing it. Just having a valid L1 visa till 2018 is not enough to legally stay in USA, you need to be working with the US employer during that period. Visa is just to gain entry into USA, not to be confused with maintaining legal status, which actually is important to stay legally inside USA.
If you get caught by immigration, you may be deported. Your stay is illegal, as you are already terminated by your US employer back in Sep.
The USCIS would have a record that you are in USA on L1 , as you might have told the officer at port of entry, that you are coming in to work for the US employer (who has terminated you already).
Whenever you try to move to another status within USA such as H1B, you need to first establish that you are legally here and employed on L1 first, through pay stubs etc., to even move to another status.
You could have simply applied for tourist visa, if you really need to be here. The simple thing that you can do now to correct everything, is exit the country as soon as possible and come back on a tourist visa.
If you continue to stay being illegal, you are just make things worse on yourself, which may affect your future visa approvals.
Thanks Ramanan.
If I do not submit pay stubs while applying for H1 would that be good?
I intend to move back to home country before Trying to change my visa status to H1. I will get stamped for my H1 at home country.
As USCIS will not verify my L1 status withy the US Country for my H1.
Would that help my case and would I be able to apply for H1
Clean way of doing this, is go to home country, apply for H1B showing that you work for the current employer at home country, get approved visa stamped and come into USA.
You may need to submit pay stubs.
Just remember you cannot apply from here at all, as your current stay in USA is illegal.
Thanks for your prompt response.
If go to say Mexico Or Canada and come back on B1 Visa. I have a valid B1 visa.
Can I then continue stating for the period of my B1 stamping say 3 or 6 months and then apply for H1.
Would that help as my stay would not be illegal the.
Thanks again for your response. I do plan to see an immigration lawyer.
But would appreciate your valuable advice.
If I have a quick visit to Mexico exiting on L1 and re-entering on B1, would like to know what are risks involved in this.
Can the officer at POE take objection and intensively question as to why I exited on L1 but am entering US on B1. What do you suggest I can respond.
Will a one day trip to Mexico suffice.
In the worst scenario if I get rejected then I will not be able to enter US at all or can I come back on my L1.
I know there are no set answers but please give an idea based on your vast experience in these matters
Yes, you will be questioned. Your current illegal stay will show up in the questioning.
You need to have a valid reason on why you went to Mexico for the number of days.
3)If rejected, you will have to go straight to home country from Mexico. Once you try entering on B1 and get rejected, you have no valid case to ask for entry through L1.
You can apply for change of status using an immigration lawyer, or go back to home country, apply H1 and come back on H1.
Thanks again.
is my current stay illegal when L1 is valid till valid till November 2017.
My company hasn’t revoked my L1 yet as I still am home country employee? I mean USCIS hasn’t been informedof my Repatriation.
If I go back to home country now and re-enter on B1 say in December. Will it reflect my illegal status on entry.
Apologize for my questions. But I just need as much information before I take the next step.
Yes, it is illegal as you are not working for the US employer and not getting any pay. Nobody seriously cares about the validity of the visa stamp on your passport, if your company has revoked your visa or not.
All that matters in the end is you are not working for the US employer and not getting paid, currently. This alone is enough for your status to be illegal in USA.
The officer at the port of entry “may” ask you, what happened to your L1 job for which you entered USA last time and why B1 now ? And you need to have a valid reason as to why you are coming back in B1, which is only a tourist visa.
Talk to an immigration lawyer and get a change of status to another category initiated immediately without having the need for going out of USA, if at all possible
I would not encourage you to lie to a immigration officer. The truth will always come out and you may be banned by immigration from entering US in future.
You can only say business meetings, if your home company really did send you on a business trip. Please refrain from exploiting company name for personal benefits.
I would highly recommend you to state the the true reason.