However, Tony has spent an aggregate of 400 days outside the U.S. since he came to the U.S. in H1B status. Answer: Subject to regulatory modification, as long as a decision may be reversed on direct appeal or certification to the For certain H-1B1 applicants from Chile and Singapore, the visa is only available in one-year increments, and it can be renewed each year. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Your i140 is approved. 17. The labor certification application (or I-140 petition if labor certification was not required) has neither expired nor been denied when the one-year extension of status is sought11. There are several strategies available to seek an H1B extension after 6 years. An alien is eligible for an extension of H-1B status beyond the 6th year as long as either the qualifying labor certification application or I-140 petition has or will have been pending for at least 365 days prior to the alien's requested start date, regardless of whether the H-1B extension application was filed prior to the passage of such period. immigrant visa number is not available to you, you may apply for three-year extensions of your H-1B status. hbbd``b`^$A11 # HS$X@b bH$$d @BCPHp~y,!N| X In your case, your H-1B extension was approved in December 2022, which means you have extended your H-1B beyond the standard six-year limit. The H1B holder will not be eligible for this 1 year H1B extension after 6 years if he or she fails to file for Adjustment of Status or an immigrant visa within one year of the priority date becoming current. In many such cases, an H1B worker may be eligible to extend his or her stay incrementally for up to three years per extension request, or in one-year increments, while at least one of the followinghis or her employer's application for an immigrant visa (USCIS form I-140), PERM (permanent labor certification request) or applicant's petition to adjust to permanent resident status respectively, remainspending. The goal of this law is to give H-1B workers in the US legal options during their transition to becoming permanent residents. Under AC21 Section 106 (a), extensions beyond the six-year limit can be obtained in one Knowledgeable, fast, courteous, efficient are all words that describe the services I received from VisaPro. This provision allows certain employment-based adjustment of status applicants (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3) who experience delays in the employment-based adjustment of the status process flexibility to accept the new offer. My visa is approved beyond 6 years using a approved I-140, and, I Under USCIS regulations, any time spent outside the U.S. does not count toward the maximum period of H1B stay in the U.S. Time spent outside the U.S. can be recaptured and H1B extension after 6 years is permissible as long as the Beneficiary can submit documentary proof of the trips outside the U.S. of six years in H status, you are eligible for 7th-year-extension and Country caps combined with high demand for green cards has led to incredible wait times. This way, as the client grows and hires more H-1B visa holders, theyll be prepared for timelines that extend beyond six years. ' Under INA 214(g)(4) , an individual is normally eligible for a maximum of 6 years in H-1B status. In such cases, the applicant may be advised by an immigration practitioner to leave the United States prior to the expiration of his or her H1B status. Your PERM petition (labor certification application) or I-140 petition have been filed at least 365 days before you reached your six-year limit of H-1B time, and. One rule allows for one-year extensions beyond the initial six years, while the other allows for three-year extensions. Thousands of green card applicants are facing extended wait times for permanent residency, but filing an extension under AC21 is an often essential maneuver to ensure that your clients H-1B visas dont expire while they are waiting. After LC approval, employers will have 180 days to submit the certification to USCIS in support of an I-140 petition. Henri and his employer should first determine if Henri has any recapture time. g ia abpl(PWfep a LU]whhY0<0 As a general principle, days spent outside of the United States during the validity period of an H-1B petition will not be counted toward the 6-year maximum period of stay in the United States in H-1B status. Three provisions of AC21 relate to extending H-1B status beyond six years (6) years. This feature used by employment-based adjustment applicants considered to have ported the petition filed on their behalf to the new job offer is referred to as portability.. dependents file I-539 concurrently with H1 extension applications, 3625 0 obj <>stream An unapproved I-140 would be a ground for ineligibility for an immigrant visa number in addition to the per-country limit. Recently, H-1Bs are back in the news as more than 100,000 employment-based green cards are set to expire soon. 5-27. Depending on your situation, you may obtain extensions in one-year increments or three-year increments. WebUnder AC21 106, an H-1B nonimmigrant can receive H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum, in one-year increments, if 365 days or more have passed since either an Upon further research I believe i should be eligible for h1b Webalien to request an H-1B extension beyond the 6-year limit? Now they need to start the process all over Immigration Services Throughout the United States, Document Review Skype Consultation (One Hour), At Herman Legal Group, Your Future Matters Most, Copyright 2017 - 2022|Herman Legal Group, LLC. If the employer can prove that the Beneficiarys presence in the U.S. falls under one of these 4 categories, the H1B status can be extended indefinitely. The new employer could file an H1B extension for an eligible individual, and the H1B could be used to work on the new job. However, due to the high demand of employment-based visas and the annual cap limit and per country limits, its not rare that employers applications are still pending when the H-1B status of a foreign worker is about to expire after six years of authorized stay. Once approved, Eduardo can come back to the U.S. and resume employment. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Continue the current course and file the H1B extension requesting a 1 year extension with a starting validity date of at least 365 days after the Labor Certification was filed. Continue with Recommended Cookies. If the labor certification or I-140 is approved, the individual can continue obtaining 1-year extensions thereafter, until an adjustment of status or immigrant visa application is either denied or approved. Unlike the three-year extension, the one-year extension does not require an approved I-140 petition. WebExtending H1B Status Beyond the 6 Year Statutory Limit. REMEMBER Heres a quick refresher about the basics of the H-1B visa, how to extend H-1B visa status beyond six years, and how you can approach this problem as an immigration attorney. Be otherwise eligible for adjustment of status from H1B worker to employment-based visa in one of the first three preference categories but for the per-country or worldwide cap on employment-based immigrant visas, or, H1B extension pending after 6 years. Tiffany Feder, Law Office of Tiffany E. Feder. WebAdditionally, H-1B nonimmigrants reaching the six-year limit of stay and with pending or approved I-140s but waiting for their Priority Date to become current, were allowed to extend their H-1B status in three-year increments until decisions were made on their adjustment of status applications. they don't have to wait for the approval notice It may takes several months to prepare and file a labor certification application, so make The questionnaires are excellent, the system is easy to use, and overall this just saves a huge amount of time. (AC21). Yes. This is an invaluable investment! So if an approved labor certification wasn't used in an I-140 petition within 180 days, it would no longer be able to support an H1B post 6th-year extension. In order to make a determination as to the H-1B alien beneficiary's eligibility for an extension of H-1B status under the provisions of 104(c) of AC21, USCIS adjudicators are instructed to review the Department of State Immigrant Visa Bulletin that was in effect at the time of filing of the Form I-129 petition. This provision does not alter the requirement that the application for extensions of H-1B stay continue to be filed in a timely manner, i.e., before the expiration date on the alien's current I-94. The filing date of the ETA 9089 PERM application will be recorded as the priority date of the case and will be listed as such on the receipt notice for the I-140. /Employment-based green card backlog hit an all-time high of 1.2 million people in 2020, and so the need for an extension is especially relevant today more than ever, particularly for Indian nationals and others who face seriously long processing times. If you want to learn more about Docketwise, schedule a demo at the link below, or sign up for our Immigration Briefings newsletter for daily and weekly immigration updates! Under AC21 106, an H-1B nonimmigrant can receive H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum, in one-year increments, if 365 days or more have passed since either an application for Alien Labor Certification (Form ETA 750A-B or ETA 9089) or a petition for immigrant worker (Form I-140) has been filed on the aliens behalf When should I file AC21? Chapter 1: Extensions of Stay in H1BB Status: AC21[PDF version] 104(c) and 106(a). ALIA's Focus on Immigration Practice Under AC21[PDF version]. Provided that the applicant was ineligible to apply for adjustment of status at the time of the approved I-140 petition, they will be granted a three-year extension of H-1B status. If, on the date of filing of the H-1B petition, the Visa Bulletin shows that the alien was subject to a per country or worldwide visa limitation in accordance with the alien's immigrant visa "priority date", then the H-1B extension request under the provisions of 104(c) of AC21 may be granted. In addition to a detailed list of U.S. departure and entry dates, examples of documents that should be submitted in order to document time spent outside the U.S. include: c.Record of Entry/Exits from CBP (the record of Entry/Exits from the CBP is not always accurate and should be supplemented by other documents, if inaccurate). Section 104(c) of AC21 states: (c) ONE-TIME PROTECTION UNDER PER COUNTRY CEILING- Notwithstanding section 214(g)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Under AC21 106, an H-1B nonimmigrant can receive H-1B status beyond the six-year maximum, in one-year increments, if 365 days or more have passed since either an application for Alien Labor Certification (Form ETA 750A-B or ETA 9089) or a petition for immigrant worker (Form I-140) has been filed on the alien's behalf. Country caps combined with high demand for green cards has led to incredible wait times. The employer can request that 365 out of the 400 days be recaptured, and request 3 years on the H1B extension petition. She first came to the U.S. in H1B status on April 1, 2011. You can apply for 1 year H1B extension. Related : US Immigration Terms with Explanation Request that 365 out of the 400 days be recaptured, and request 3 years on the extension. 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