I have a little complex question, any help on answering this is much appreciated.
I am in USA on L1A Visa. My Visa will max out in 2 years and 8 months. My employer has started my GC process. They used to do L1A GC in EB1 before, but they are doing now in EB2 even though I am in Managerial role.
Since my GC will be processed in EB2, I will not be able to stay back in USA after my Visa max out which is 2 years and 8 months from now. Below are the two options I was suggested.
I have an approved H1B which was revoked by a different employer. That employer has processed my H1B and I did not join with the employer since I chose L1A from my current employer and they have revoked the H1B (I have the petition number, but don’t have the approval notice for that H1B also, I did not work on that H1B even for a single day). Question I have is, am I eligible for a new cap-exempt (no lottery) H1B, move to new H1B from L1A after my I140 approved and stay back in USA?
Apply for a new H1B Visa. I have 2 years and 8 months remaining on my L1A Visa and if I move to H1B, my maxout will be 1 year and 8 months. Also my company is very slow in GC processing. So if I get a new H1B, and I get I140 approved within H1B expiry, is it possible to move to H1B and continue in USA (I assume it is possible)? Also, what if I am not getting i140 on time and my my H1B is maxout by the time I get i140 (still I am on L1A)? Will I be able to make use of my expired H1B with I140 to continue in USA?
Thanks a lot in advance, any help on this would be much appreciated.
This doesn’t make sense. You should talk to executive management and request to do it in EB1C otherwise you will be stuck in multi-decade wait queue to get your GC.
There have been cases where USCIS has approved cap-exempt H1B even if the beneficiary didn’t work for the first H1B sponsoring employer. So you can try. If you have approved I140 you can get AC21 extensions.
You can file I-824 with USCIS to get the copy of I-797 approval notice of your H1B.
Yes.
There are are several options if your I-140 is not approved by the maxout time.
You can recapture any time spent outside of the US while on L1 or H1B to extend your stay while I-140 is pending.
If your PERM is pending for more than 1 year or is approved after being pending for 1 year and I-140 is pending at the time of maxout, you can get 1 year extension beyond H1B maxout.
If all above is not an option and your I-140 is pending while your L1/H1B maxout, you will need to spend time outside of the US till I-140 is approved and then your employer can apply for AC21 extension based on approved I-140.
Unfortunately, my employer is not doing EB1 anymore.
One more question please.
Suppose none of my H1B Plans work out and say, my I140 has been approved before my L1A maxout. As per my understanding, there is no way for me to continue in USA. per my understanding, I need to go out of country, serve 1 year cooling period outside of USA, apply for new H1B/L1 Visa, tag my I140 to that visa and come back to USA.
If I-140 is approved before L1 maxout but your H1B is not approved before L1 maxout, you will need to leave the US and can come back after 1 year on H1B.
As you have suggested, I tried to check the option for I-824 to get my H1B approval notice. But when I hoogled? I saw in USCIS website that I-824 cannot be applied for revoked petitions. Is there any other option? I have the approved petition number with me.
I have the receipt number for the approved H1B. I will try for a new H1 and see if that can be processed as cap exempt. Thank you again for your help, Kalpesh!