L1B to H1B by same employer with L1B expired and RFE received on Extention

Hi,

I am currently in US on L1B visa. I came to Us on Jan 2010 and havent have gone back to india or out of US since then.



My L1B visa got expired on Jan 05 2013



My employer had filed for L1B extention for which we got an RFE which is due by April 15 2013



[b]Question:[/b]



1. My current employer has agreed on filing H1B in April 2013? Is it OK/possible to do that with Pending RFE on L1B extention.



2. What if my L1B extention is approved, will H1B application still be valid. And what if H1B is also approved.



3. In case if L1B extention is denied and i have to go back to india in May 2013, and if H1B is approved, how much term will i get on H1B when i come back to US on Oct 2013 (considering the fact that i have already stayed in US on L1B for 3 years)



4. In case if L1B extention is denied and i have to go back to india in May 2013, and if H1B is approved, will i get 6 yrs if i come to US post May 2014 (considering the fact that i have already stayed in US on L1B for 3 years) 



Thank you in advance for all your answers.



Regards,



Mustafa.
  1. Yes it is possible

  2. Both the applications will be independent of each other. If L1B RFE is approved after H1b approval but before October 1 - your status will automatically change from L1 to H1 starting October 1. If both the applications are approved then prior to October 1 your employer may need to file for COS from L1 to H1 again before you can start working on H.

  3. Your time spent on L1 will also be counted and your clock won’t be reset. You would get only 3 more years in this scenario.

  4. Yes since the clock will be reset.