L1B to H1B COS : Staying on L1 after 1st Oct'2016

USA H1B Visa
1

Hi,

I am currently on L1B VISA and working for company X. My L1B is getting maxout in June’2017.

My H1B is selected in lottery this year for company Y. It was COS from L1B to H1B.While my H1B COS was in progress, my wife has got the job and started working on L2 VISA in May’2016.

I have following three scenarios and want suggestions.

Now to keep my wife’s job alive, I may want to stay on L1B with company X till my I-140 is approved on L1B VISA, And after I140 approval, I want to move back to H1B VISA (selected in this year). One of my friend suggested moving out of country before 1st Oct ’2016 and entering back on L1B VISA that way my H1B COS will be canceled and company X can transfer it my H1B petition under them so it doesn’t get cancelled. Once my I-140 gets approved on L1B, I can move back to H1B VISA with company X. Can you please suggest how this is possible ? If I travel outside US before 1st Oct and my H1B COS gets cancelled then , Company Y can be notified about this ?2. If I preferred to stay with company Y and if I work for company X after 1st OCT to serve notice period(15 days), will it be illegal, can it affect my future green card application ? When should I resign? Because if I resign from company X before 1st OCT, company X can cancel my L1B VISA and I may go out of status.

  1. If I preferred to transfer my H1B VISA to company Z after 1st Oct’2016, do I have to join company Y? How can I directly join company Z without joining company Y?

Thanks for your help in advance.

VM

2

  1. Yes, this is possible but only if you leave US prior to H-1 COS approval. Once COS has been approved, you will still need to travel outside of US but return after Oct 1 (which is when COS goes into effect). Y would know about COS cancelation as they would receive H-1 approval with consular processing and not COS. So they can ask you what happened.

  2. If you stay w/ X for 15 more days, it may not matter in the long run (green card process). It’s a gray area but I think you should be ok. This is something you can discuss w/ Y’s attorney to get a more precise advice.

  3. Ask Z to file cap-exempt petition aka H-1 transfer for you as soon as you receive Y’s approval. Then join Z after Oct 1 or later. All this requires Y’s petition to be approved first.