DOL_0903 said:
Thanks for your quick reply. Can you post or point us to more details on your reply. Thanks is advance and I sent you a PM as well. I am getting anxious to know more and appreciate if you can reply please.
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I think he is referring to this on immigration-law.com
As per my understanding out of status is a problem. Just not being on h1 is not a problem, as long as a person has jumped around on different visas but maintained status extension can be granted.
01/01/2007: H-1B Extension Beyond Six-Year Limit Under 12/05/2006 Aytes Memorandum
* The Aytes memorandum clarified the availability of the H-1B extension beyond six years during the immigration processings. Following is the summary of this portion of his memorandum.
* The memorandum clarifies that those who seek the AC 21 exemptions to H-1B six-year limit must pass the following three thresholds:
o Threshold 1: They must prove that they are sufferring in green card process from (1) either the government delays or (2) unavailability of immigrant visa numbers. The government delay is established when labor certification or immigrant proceeding has taken longer than 365 days from the date of filing (priority date). In this case, the H-1B extension will be available beyond the six-year limit in one-year increment indefinitely. In the situation of immigrant visa number unavailability due to the visa number retrogression, the H-1B extension will be available, regardless the government's delays in the proceeding, in three-year increment indefinitely if I-140 petition has been approved. In the first situation, the priority date is relevant to determine counting of 365 days of filing, while in the second situation, the priority date is relevant to determine the visa number availability in the monthly Visa Bulletin. In either situation, people must prove one of these two requirements to apply for the H-1B extension beyond six years either in one-year increment or three-year increment.
o Threshold 2: They must prove that they have already taken out H-1B cap number and they are not subject to the H-1B cap. For this purpose, the alien does not have to be in H-1B status currently. Inasmuch as he/she took out H-1B visa number previously, the alien will be eligible for the H-1B extension beyond six year limit.
o Threshold 3: The alien must prove that the alien (1) is "admissible" or (2) "has been maintaining nonimmigrant status." For those aliens who are seeking the H-1B extentions beyond six years, admissibility or maintenance of nonimmigrant status may be determined by Section 248 of the immigration regulation. If the alien is not eligible for change of nonimmigrant status or extension of nonimmigrant status, such alien will not be eligible for extension of H-1B status beyond six years. Accordingly, even though the alien is not required to prove that the alien is in a valid H-1B status at the time of filing the H-1B extension application beyond six years, the alien must still prove that the alien has been maintaining one of the nonimmigrant visa status under the immigration law. It can be F-1, O-1, L-1, or any other nonimmigrant visa status. If the alien has fallen out of status, the alien will not be eligible for the H-1B extension beyond six year limit. With reference to this threshold, a question arises as to the eligibility of H-1B status beyond six year for those H-1B aliens who traveled on Advance Parole and whose current status is "not nonimmigrant" but a parolee. The memorandum does not touch on this specific issue. However, relevant to this question is another memorandum of the USCIS that states that such parolee is eligible for "reinstatement of H-1B status" without leaving the country and by filing "H-1B extension petition." This interpretation is provisional pending enactment of the AC21 regulation, which can change the rule. Until the enactment of the AC21, it thus appears that these parolees may be eligible for H-1B extension petition inasmuch as it is filed before expiration of his/her current H-1B validity period. Once the approved current H-1B petition expires, such extension may not be available as paroloee is not a nonimmigrant and not admissible to a nonimmigrant status within the U.S. It thus appears that those I-485 filers who were in a H-1B status before reentering the U.S. as a parolee may want to file the extension of the H-1B status before the current H-1B petition expires in order to reinstate his/her H-1B status and to extend the H-1B status beyond six year limit. [Caveat] The foregoing statement on the parolee's issue is the opinion of an individual attorney and neither a law nor any authoritative interpretation of the agencies. People should seek legal counsel before acting on this opinion. This website and reporter will not be responsible for the consequences of such reliance.]
* Some questions related to the foregoing posting will be discussed in our Hypothetical Facts and Analysis afterwards.