Nagarjuna28

Is change of status valid only if you are working within USA?

If INS approve change status from L1 (Company A)to H1B(Company B)
attaching a updated I94 with H1B approval notice

Q1: What are the possible options for employee to continue work under
previous status(L1) assuming he is not accepting H1B offer from
company B?

For practical reason he won't to be able to intimate this change of
status to current employer A

Q2: Can he leave USA and renter on his valid L1 visa discrading H1B
staus?Then Should he surrender both I94s(On L1 and H1B)during
leaving USA

Will appreciate your feedback

Jozef

"nagarjuna28" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > Is change of status valid only if you are working within USA?

No. The status changes at the moment the petition / application is approved.

    > If INS approve change status from L1 (Company A)to H1B(Company B)
    > attaching a updated I94 with H1B approval notice
    > Q1: What are the possible options for employee to continue work under
    > previous status(L1) assuming he is not accepting H1B offer from
    > company B?

The employee will only be authorized to work for the employer who sponsored
the H-1B visa.

    > For practical reason he won't to be able to intimate this change of
    > status to current employer A

Um, he shouldn't have applied for a change to H-1B then...

    > Q2: Can he leave USA and renter on his valid L1 visa discrading H1B
    > staus?

See above. He is effectively in H-1B status once the petition is approved.
Technically, when you leave the US, you do not have a 'status' anymore. A
new status is assigned to you by the immigration official at the port of
entry, based on the visa stamp in the passport. This status is documented on
the I-94 card.

    > Then Should he surrender both I94s(On L1 and H1B)during
    > leaving USA.

Yes. If he leaves the US, he should surrender both I-94s. Note that since
the L-1 visa stamp in his passport is no longer valid, he will have to
obtain an H-1B visa stamp in order to be able to re-enter the US.

Nagarjuna28

Thanks jozef



One further question

If I don't work for a single day and leave USA immidately could I get my
visa stamped on my earlier approved L1 petition(Valid till Oct 2004)

My understanding is as you mentioned Status will be menaingful if you
are working within in USA correct? So if I never be under H1B company
payroll and till me last day in USA I work for my L1 petition employer
should I have a choice to get L1 new stamp?

Appreciate your feedback

Jozef

"nagarjuna28" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...
    > If I don't work for a single day and leave USA immidately could I get my
    > visa stamped on my earlier approved L1 petition(Valid till Oct 2004)

If your H-1B petition has been approved, your L-1 petition / visa is no
longer valid.

    > My understanding is as you mentioned Status will be menaingful if you
    > are working within in USA correct? So if I never be under H1B company
    > payroll and till me last day in USA I work for my L1 petition employer
    > should I have a choice to get L1 new stamp?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to hold two different immigration statuses
at the same time.
If your H-1B petition has been approved, you are effectively in H-1B status,
no matter which employer you work for. The only difference is that if you
work for another employer than the one who sponsored your H-1B, you would be
violating your status.

You can re-enter the US only with a visa based on your approved H-1B
petition.

It would be different if both petitions were H-1B. In that case you could
choose which employer to work for (and you wouldn't need a new visa stamp
either.)
However, in your case, the visa type has changed. Consequently, trying to
re-enter the US with your old (unexpired) L-1 visa would raise a red flag,
because according to the ICE officer's computer you should be in H-1B
status.

I suggest you consult a good immigration attorney. Maybe the solution to
your problem is as simple as filing an I-539 Change of Status Application
back to L-1.

Jozef

"Jozef" <jozef.*take this out*> wrote in message
news:n5Zpb.751$...
    > You can re-enter the US only with a visa based on your approved H-1B
    > petition.
    > It would be different if both petitions were H-1B. In that case you could
    > choose which employer to work for (and you wouldn't need a new visa stamp
    > either.)
    > However, in your case, the visa type has changed. Consequently, trying to
    > re-enter the US with your old (unexpired) L-1 visa would raise a red flag,
    > because according to the ICE officer's computer you should be in H-1B
    > status.

Sorry - I'm pretty sure I messed up!
If you have two approved petitions and visa stamps, you can choose which one
to use when re-entering the US. If you leave the US and re-enter using your
(unexpired) L-1 visa, you will be back in L-1 status.

Note that the rest of what I said still stands: you are currently not
authorized to work for the employer that sponsored the L-1 visa.

The morale of the story? Do not only rely on what you read in newsgroups.

Nagarjuna28

Hi Jozef ,

Thanks for your reply..precisely your second post answered my question

My H1B got approved ON 22nd October and still my H1B petioner employer
not sent my approval paers/I94 doc.I am leaving USA in End November and
staying in Canada for couple of months(I am a canadian Landed Immigrant)
and then planning to return back on my L1 staus with a new L1 visa
stamped based on my valid L1 petition.Now I have two choices

Case 1 : I am not receiving my H1B approval papers/IP4 doc at all and at
POE I am handing over my old I94(On L1 which I received during entering
USA in Dec 2002).During stamping at Toronto USA consulate if officer ask
me question about my H1B staus can I tell that my H1B petitioner never
intimated or sent me any of those H1B papers and I never left my L1
petitioner employer (For L1 staus you need to be with that employer
atleast for one year in last 3 years)

Case 2: I will receive those H1B papers and during leaving USA in end
Nov I'll handover both I94s at POE.During stamping in Toronto consulate
I'll explain that I received H1B papers only in end November and as my
H1B employer offer wasn't as good as he offered during filing my H1B and
to continue my L1 employment I left USA immidiately to get a new L1
visa.Will this explanation be OK if I show my latest paystub on my L1
employment



Will appreciate if you could tell me which options could be better

I am talking with different lawyers but they are coming with
different opinions

Regards

Ingo Pakleppa - See Web Site For Email

On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 00:04:17 +0000, Jozef wrote:

    >
    > "nagarjuna28" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > news:...
    >> Is change of status valid only if you are working within USA?
    >
    > No. The status changes at the moment the petition / application is approved.

Not really, as you pointed out yourself below. If Nagarjuna is outside the
USA, there is no status that would change at all. In that case, simply the
petition would get approved.

    >> If INS approve change status from L1 (Company A)to H1B(Company B)
    >> attaching a updated I94 with H1B approval notice
    >> Q1: What are the possible options for employee to continue work under
    >> previous status(L1) assuming he is not accepting H1B offer from
    >> company B?
    >
    > The employee will only be authorized to work for the employer who sponsored
    > the H-1B visa.

Again, not really true. In this scenario, the employee has two options:

- return to the USA, showing the L-1 visa and the L-1 petition, and
returning to employer A. In that case, he would be treated as if he had
never applied for the H-1B, and would only be allowed to work for the
original employer.

- wait for the H-1B approval in his home country, then visit a US
consulate there, apply for an H-1B visa, and return, showing that and the
new H-1B petition. In that case, he would only be allowed to work for the
new employer.

Of course, if Nagarjuna never leaves the USA, then his status would become
H-1B automatically, and he would only be able to work for the new employer.

    >> For practical reason he won't to be able to intimate this change of
    >> status to current employer A
    >
    > Um, he shouldn't have applied for a change to H-1B then...

I don't quite understand the statement "intimate the change to current
employer..."

    >> Q2: Can he leave USA and renter on his valid L1 visa discrading H1B
    >> staus?
    >
    > See above. He is effectively in H-1B status once the petition is approved.
    > Technically, when you leave the US, you do not have a 'status' anymore. A
    > new status is assigned to you by the immigration official at the port of
    > entry, based on the visa stamp in the passport. This status is documented on
    > the I-94 card.

And indeed it would be L-1, unless he first got an H-1B visa from a US
consulate. Just as he requested, it would indeed discard the H-1B status,
and return him to L-1.

Jozef

"Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email" <> wrote in message
news:...
    > >
    > > No. The status changes at the moment the petition / application is
approved.
    > Not really, as you pointed out yourself below. If Nagarjuna is outside the
    > USA, there is no status that would change at all. In that case, simply the
    > petition would get approved.

He indicated he's currently in the US.

    > >> If INS approve change status from L1 (Company A)to H1B(Company B)
    > >> attaching a updated I94 with H1B approval notice
    > >>
    > >> Q1: What are the possible options for employee to continue work under
    > >> previous status(L1) assuming he is not accepting H1B offer from
    > >> company B?
    > >
    > > The employee will only be authorized to work for the employer who
sponsored
    > > the H-1B visa.
    > Again, not really true. In this scenario, the employee has two options:

I realized that (a bit late) too, and was fortunately able to correct my own
post!

    > >> For practical reason he won't to be able to intimate this change of
    > >> status to current employer A
    > >
    > > Um, he shouldn't have applied for a change to H-1B then...
    > I don't quite understand the statement "intimate the change to current
    > employer..."

Apparently, his current employer doesn't know about his new H-1B petition!
    

Jozef

"nagarjuna28" <member@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:...

    > My H1B got approved ON 22nd October and still my H1B petioner employer
    > not sent my approval paers/I94 doc.

That makes no difference I'm afraid. You are in H-1B status even if the
petitioning employer sits on the approval papers.

    > staying in Canada for couple of months(I am a canadian Landed Immigrant)
    > and then planning to return back on my L1 staus with a new L1 visa
    > stamped based on my valid L1 petition.Now I have two choices
    > Case 1 : I am not receiving my H1B approval papers/IP4 doc at all and at
    > POE I am handing over my old I94(On L1 which I received during entering
    > USA in Dec 2002).During stamping at Toronto USA consulate if officer ask
    > me question about my H1B staus can I tell that my H1B petitioner never
    > intimated or sent me any of those H1B papers and I never left my L1
    > petitioner employer (For L1 staus you need to be with that employer
    > atleast for one year in last 3 years)
    > Case 2: I will receive those H1B papers and during leaving USA in end
    > Nov I'll handover both I94s at POE.During stamping in Toronto consulate
    > I'll explain that I received H1B papers only in end November and as my
    > H1B employer offer wasn't as good as he offered during filing my H1B and
    > to continue my L1 employment I left USA immidiately to get a new L1
    > visa.Will this explanation be OK if I show my latest paystub on my L1
    > employment

Refer also to Ingo's excellent post.
It's pretty simple really. You are now in H-1B status and only authorized to
work for the H-1B employer.
Once you leave and re-enter the US using your L-1 visa you will be back in
L-1.
Having worked for a couple of months for your L-1 employer while in H-1B
status *may* come back to haunt you if you ever apply for a Green Card, but
other than that I don't think it's a big deal.

Nagarjuna28

Thank you guys for your advice

I do understand that if your H1B petition approval is pending and you
leave USA and even after H1B approval (from another company) you can
always have a choice to decide which one you want to have stamping(L1 or
H1B) because now you have both L1 and H1B petition valid(From two
different emplyer) and then you can reenter at your choice.If you have
unexpired valid L1 visa and H1B petion got approved when you are outside
USA you still can enter with your unexpired L1 visa to get back into L1
status as at POE I94 will be issued on L1 which supercede earlier I94
attached with approved I797 (On H1B)

My problem is when my H1B got approved from the other employer I am
within in USA and continuing work under L1 emplyment which is illegal
per INS .To avoid this conflict I am leaving USA within one month of
INS approval

Now my questions are

(1)If I go for L1 visa stamping in Toronto can I have my L1 visa stamped
on my L1 petition?Now the moment I leave USA I'll surrender both my
I94(Old one on L1 and new one on H1B) and I'll have both H1B and L1
petion valid.During L1 visa stamping in Toronto I'll explain that I
was intimated and received those H1B approval doc very late and as my
H1B employer broke commitment I decided to continue work under L1 and
left USA immidiately

(2)I can refuse my H1B petioner employer offer and could deny to accept
H1B approval paperd /I94 and during leaving USA will surrender I94 on
L1(Note that I never received latest I94 on H1B)

During L1 visa stamping I'll explain that I was intimated very late and
never received those H1B papers.Also as my H1B employer broke commitment
I decided to continue work under L1 and left USA immidiately to get back
my L1 staus

For both the cases consider I am leaving within one month after my H1B
approval and explaining I left immidiately when I was intimated about
this Change of status(L1 to H1B) to avoid any 'Out Of Staus" issue



Will appreciate if you advice which option will be better