H1B extension taking 6 months and need to leave in order to get married
 

My H1-B change of employer process started on last Nov. 2002 and until
now it is still "in process". I had done this before and it never took
more than 4 months. I am getting married outside the country next
month (June) and my current H1-B from my previuos employer is expiring
at the end of this month (May). There is no way I can cancel my
marriage ceremony which involves many people coming from overseas and
lots of money already invested.

I need to know, in the case that the H1-B approval does not arrive
before I leave the country, how can I get back to continue working
with my current employer? Should I get an advance parole for this?

Thanks for your answers.

Re: H1B extension taking 6 months and need to leave in order to get married
 

    >Subject: H1B extension taking 6 months and need to leave in order to get
    >married
    >From: [email protected] (zamo)
    >Date: 5/12/03 9:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
    >Message-id:
    >My H1-B change of employer process started on last Nov. 2002 and until
    >now it is still "in process". I had done this before and it never took
    >more than 4 months. I am getting married outside the country next
    >month (June) and my current H1-B from my previuos employer is expiring
    >at the end of this month (May). There is no way I can cancel my
    >marriage ceremony which involves many people coming from overseas and
    >lots of money already invested.
    >I need to know, in the case that the H1-B approval does not arrive
    >before I leave the country, how can I get back to continue working
    >with my current employer? Should I get an advance parole for this?
    >Thanks for your answers.

You could try converting to premium processing...

Re: H1B extension taking 6 months and need to leave in order to get married
 

Unfortunately, you cannot come back to US after your current H1-B
expires until you get the new one.

And I don't think you can work with your current employer legally after your
current
visa expires (the end of May) even though you are in the US.


"zamo" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > My H1-B change of employer process started on last Nov. 2002 and until
    > now it is still "in process". I had done this before and it never took
    > more than 4 months. I am getting married outside the country next
    > month (June) and my current H1-B from my previuos employer is expiring
    > at the end of this month (May). There is no way I can cancel my
    > marriage ceremony which involves many people coming from overseas and
    > lots of money already invested.
    > I need to know, in the case that the H1-B approval does not arrive
    > before I leave the country, how can I get back to continue working
    > with my current employer? Should I get an advance parole for this?
    > Thanks for your answers.

As long as you've applied for an extension you may continue to work in the US after your visa/I-94 has expired.

However, if you leave, you cannot re-enter the US to work unless you have a valid H1-B visa.

As the previous post stated your best bet is to apply for premium processing ($1000+lawyer's fees) and it is guaranteed to be adjudicated in 15 days. Otherwise you'll just have to wait outside the US until it is approved.

I was in a similar situation and converted my H1-B extension to premium processing and it was returned (approved) in less than a week.

Good luck.