Working with H1B receipt

[Goku]

My H1B expired in 2003 august. And I have applied for an extension before the expiry. The extension application has not been approved yet and there was no RFE either. How long can I continue working based on the receipt of H1 application. I heared it was 240 days from the receipt date. Can someone point me to any INS documents which clarifies this situation ?

thanks

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

If you had applied for a H-1B extension with the same employer and the extension was filed BEFORE the expiration date of your H-1B, you have under the law permission to continue working with authorization for a period of 240 days not since the date of the receipt but 240 days beyond the expiration date of your H-1B petition.

As the period nears the 240-day mark, if your extension still has not been approved, you would have to convert the pending extension to Premium Processing, so that you can get the decision on your extension before your authorized work permission terminates under this rule.