I have been on H1B visa since October 1999 and transferred to a different company in 2001.
When I started my current job in March 2004, the company applied for an H1B and I was expecting it to be for the balance of the six years. But when the approval came, it was for 3 years (2004 to 2007), which surprised me. I asked the lawyer that processed the application at the time and she told me that the H1B rule is six years per company and not six years total. She also said that she had applied for a brand new H1B, which entitled me to a fresh six years. I believed her at the time and was planning to renew in 2007. I got married in November 2006 and I sent in my application for Green Card by Marriage to the DHS and things are going well with the processing. The EAD and the Advance Parole have been approved
Before I received approval notice about the EAD last month, I attempted to renew the H1B using a different lawyer. He raised an alarm about the previous H1B being filed incorrectly and that the previous lawyer probably did not disclose to the DHS about my first H1B. We also discovered that the Labor Cert. filed by my employer was filed in November 2005, a month late for the 5-year rule that enables one to renew on a yearly basis.
During this period, the new EAD arrived in the mail and communicated this information to the new lawyer. He advised that since I have an EAD, I do not need to renew the H1B and I should be OK moving forward. My question is that is this information accurate? Also, will this error by the first lawyer come back and hunt me in future?
When I started my current job in March 2004, the company applied for an H1B and I was expecting it to be for the balance of the six years. But when the approval came, it was for 3 years (2004 to 2007), which surprised me. I asked the lawyer that processed the application at the time and she told me that the H1B rule is six years per company and not six years total. She also said that she had applied for a brand new H1B, which entitled me to a fresh six years. I believed her at the time and was planning to renew in 2007. I got married in November 2006 and I sent in my application for Green Card by Marriage to the DHS and things are going well with the processing. The EAD and the Advance Parole have been approved
Before I received approval notice about the EAD last month, I attempted to renew the H1B using a different lawyer. He raised an alarm about the previous H1B being filed incorrectly and that the previous lawyer probably did not disclose to the DHS about my first H1B. We also discovered that the Labor Cert. filed by my employer was filed in November 2005, a month late for the 5-year rule that enables one to renew on a yearly basis.
During this period, the new EAD arrived in the mail and communicated this information to the new lawyer. He advised that since I have an EAD, I do not need to renew the H1B and I should be OK moving forward. My question is that is this information accurate? Also, will this error by the first lawyer come back and hunt me in future?
I speak as someone who worked for 3 different companies on H-1B. Its 6 years total.