Denied COS

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kalamahari

Registered Users (C)
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If a change of status from L1 to H1 is requested from USCIS and the H1 is approved without an I-94, can I continue to live in the US on the L1?
 
No - I think you need to leave and reenter to complete the change of status. This usually happens when you've been out of status (or the officer thought you may have been) and so they want you to be inspected at the border.

~T
 
But I do not want to go for the H1 now. I want to continue on the L1 for a while before I decide on the H1. The thing is that I am in the US on a valid L1 and doing well, it took USCIS almost 10 months to get my H1 approved. Your reply seems to imply (and I agree) that that IF I need a change of status, I need to go back for stamping. But I do not want a change of status, ie, I want to continue to be on L1 for some time. Is it possible?

I thank you for your earlier answer and would appreciate if you could help me further please.

Thanks a lot!
Param
 
Hmm -- sorry no clue here. I think an attorney may help. Reentering US on a L-1 will probably undo a COS if it actually took effect
 
But can you tell me if I can continue to live in the US on the L1 that I already have? My problem is that I do not want to go back to India to get the H1. I want to continue to be here on the L1. When I go back in 3 months, I will get the H1 stamped though and re-enter US on an H1.

Thanks for your post!

Regards
Param
 
You can continue to work on L1 as long as it is valid and your not out of status as long as you dont stay beyond the date mentioned on the I-94.

Hope this helps.
 
When I go back in 3 months, I will get the H1 stamped though and re-enter US on an H1.
Click to expand...

My main concern is that USCIS sent you a H1 approval without I-94. This is unusual and they for some reason suspect that you were or have been out of status. I think you'd better clear things up and I don't know how to do that..

And if they do suspect that you are out of status, reentry may be a problem, irrepective of if you are using a L1 or a H1 to enter. So it's probably best to document your status/history to an attorney and try to get an informed opinion as to why USCIS didn't send an new I-94.

~T
 
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talkative said:
My main concern is that USCIS sent you a H1 approval without I-94. This is unusual and they for some reason suspect that you were or have been out of status. I think you'd better clear things up and I don't know how to do that..

And if they do suspect that you are out of status, reentry may be a problem, irrepective of if you are using a L1 or a H1 to enter. So it's probably best to document your status/history to an attorney and try to get an informed opinion as to why USCIS didn't send an new I-94.

~T
Click to expand...
Not necessarily. If you tick the application box instead of COS to new, you will get H1 without I 94 at bottom.
 
They denied me a COS (which in effect means an H1 approval without an I-94) because I went to India for 2 months while my H1 application was still in processing. I found that this is a common occurence.

After 1 month I re-entered the US on the same L1 without a problem.

My concern was that since in USCIS's reply it's mentioned that in order to use the H1 I would have to get it stamped outside US and then re-enter, can I continue to be in the country lawfully on the valid L1 or not. In other words, can I get the H1 stamping at my own sweet time or do I have to kind of rush back to do so even if I am okay with the L1 right now. Please note that it was 7 months back that I applied for an H1, a lot can change in a person's professional plans in that time.

May be it's my wishful thinking but after researching on the net and reading your replies carefully, looks like I can continue to be in the country on the L1 since that IS a valid status I maintain anyway. I did call up the USCIS and they confirmed it as well.

I will keep researching and get answer from my attorney also and post here for everyone's benefit.

Meanwhile if anyone thinks otherwise, can they post an alert here?

Thanks a lot!!!
Param
 
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