filing for H1B while on a TN that expires before oct 1?

V

vctralsh

New Member
Hi everyone,

I am currently on TN status, which expires in July 08. My company is filing a H1B petition for me, however, if I am approved, it still will not be active until OCT 1st 08 leaving me with a gap of July-Oct with no coverage.

I read however on this site, that after applying for renewal, I can stay working for 240 days after receipt of my renewal submission...

So could I send in my renewal form in july 08, and work until oct1 08, switching completely to h1b even though I have a tn1 renewal paperwork in progress somewhere?

How could I cancel my Tn1 petition which would be in a mail pile somewhere?

Also, in the event my h1b is denied, does the fact that I have a h1b petition in progress jeopardize my chances of having the tn1 extension granted?

Of my 2 scenarios:
1. I get h1b. I have a current tn1 renewal petition in progress I no longer want.
2. I don't get h1b, however I have a current tn1 renewal in progress I DO want...can it be denied based on my h1b application?

Thanks so much!
 
Your H1 has no effect on future TN.

What you propose will work fine. You would cancel the TN by mail.

One point to remember is that, since you won't be able to show continuous status, it is very likely that if you get H1 approval, it will NOT have the I-94 attached, so you will need to go to the border at some point after Oct 01, and before the 240 days expire on your TN grace period, to get your H1 I-94.
 
nelsona said:
Your H1 has no effect on future TN.

What you propose will work fine. You would cancel the TN by mail.

One point to remember is that, since you won't be able to show continuous status, it is very likely that if you get H1 approval, it will NOT have the I-94 attached, so you will need to go to the border at some point after Oct 01, and before the 240 days expire on your TN grace period, to get your H1 I-94.
Click to expand...

Just to make Nelson's point clearer:

Yes, your H1 petition will be a loose petition. Your H1 will start (if approved) on Oct 1, but to start it (to activate it), you need to go out of the US and reenter on H1. If you start working without doing this by assuming that your H1 has started from Oct 1 (and if you do not have any other work authorization like TN), you would be working illegaly.
 
Thank you both for the replies.

So I understand that petitioning for an H1B, but not getting approved does not count as intent to stay? And thus does not impact my TN-1 no intent to stay clause?

Is filing for a TN-1 extension very difficult or dangerous(good chance of rejection)? The law firm who is doing my H1B charges...a bunch... to file a TN-1 extension, and the lawyer made it sound like it was somewhat simple to do.

Thanks so much. This has my head swimming in circles!
 
Back in 2001 or so, my TN was expiring before H1B was approved (because of an RFE, we missed the cap) so I had to extend it. My attorney did not ask for a change of status with the petition so I worked for a few extra months on TN even though I had the H1B approval. The H1 did not become effective until I re-entered and requested that status. It bought me some extra time on my H1 clock. In any event, one application did not affect the other.
 
Indeed, if one gets an H1 approved without the I-94 attached, and has a valid TN for the same job, one is quite free -- in fact one is encouraged -- to hold off switching over to H1, as it delays the start of the six-year H1 clock, which could prove very valuable in the middle steps of the GC process.
 
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