7th Year extension Borderline case..need help

N

needh1help

New Member
Situation
I am currently working for Company A which applied for my Labor certification on Oct 21st 2002. My 6 years of H1B tenure expire on October 20th of 2003. I intend to apply for the 7th year extension based on the fact that a LC application is pending for more than 365 days. Since the 365 days window would occur exactly on the day the H1-B expires, I was told by the law firm for the company that the earliest an H1B extension can be filed is Oct 21st 2003.

Basically they said that the 1 year of pending labor certification occurs on 10/20/03, and they will file it on that day to arrive at INS on 10/21/03 still timely for an extension. But would prepare everything in advance of course and have it ready to go, but the petition would be dated 10/20/2003.

Questions
1) Would it be possible in my case that an extension gets filed prior to Oct 20th 2003, rather than filing it on the day the H1B expires?
2) Will I be out of status after Oct 21st 2003, assuming that the extension was applied on that day?
3) Would I be out of status if after 2 months BCIS/INS rejects the 7th year extension request.
4) Would all my stay beyond Oct 21st 2003 be counted as "unlawfully present" if the extension was rejected ?
5) If the extension is rejected how long do I have before I can leave the country?
 
1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes, from the rejection date though.
4. No
5. As for any h1 rejection. Immediate to 10 days...
 
Thanks for the quick response.

Just as a followup to the response on question 1 -- How soon can I file for my 7th year extension -- meaning is it possible to file it somewhere in September 2003 even when the 365 days happen on October 20th 2003?

Regards
 
Thanks for your response. And also thanks for pointing me to Murthy's Bulletin. Now based on what I am reading I am a little concerned....

Because in my case the 365-day point is on the exact day that the I-94 expires, so do I qualify for a 7th year extension if the application reached INS office on the 366th day.??

I am very worried please advise...

regards
 
According to the bullettin it seems like you will have some problems.
Best is : BCIS will grant the approval with I94
Next Best is: When you apply for the h1 extension, BCIS might give you a H1 without I94 and all you need to do is go out to a POE and get a new I94. I hope so...
 
Thanks for the response. I was not able to clearly state my question in my previous thread I guess.

Basically the question is :

"Can I go ahead and file for the H1B extension on the 365th day or do I have to wait and file on the 366th day."

In my case the last date on my current H1B and I-94 happens to be the 365th day.

Regards
 
My reading of the murthy's response is that you will not be eligible before 365th day, but you can either file it in advance - requesting a start date of 366+ day or file it after 366th day...
 
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