Renewal of work permit
 

Hi
My husband is on an L1-A visa, the visa which was issued at the embassy in London UK is valid until 2017 but the work permit (I-797B) which was issued by the USCIS expires in Dec 2013 as ths was only granted for 1 year. Can anyone please tell me what form we fill out to renew this work permit? We have spoken with the USCIS and have been told on one occasion that we need to fill out a I-129 form and then on another occasion we have been told it is the I-765 form does anyone know which is correct ? Any help would be much appreciated

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Isn't this something your company attorney should be doing, given you cannot complete the form, your employer must.

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

My husband is the director of the company so therefor he fills it out

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Ah, ok. Well, even still, I would retain an immigration attorney to complete this for you. Just to ensure nothing is done incorrectly, especially as there are a lot of RFE's currently being issued for L1 petition extensions (according to my immigration attorney).

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

EAD form isn't that complicated though...

I-765

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Bob we have spoken at great length with the USCIS and the have told us it is definitely the I-129 my husband needs to complete & myself and the kids need to complete the I-539. I really wish it was the I-765 as this form is as straight forward as they come. We really can't understand why we have to do the I-129 when we already ave valid visas and it is just the notice of action from the USCIS we need renewed but I guess if they say it as to be done. Thanks for your help

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

It is possible that you didn't speak to anyone at USCIS but instead to a third party contractor on the misinformation line. Even if you did speak to someone at USCIS, the information is often incorrect and they can't be held accountable. You should have at least a one time consultation with an immigration attorney since if things are done incorrectly, you will pay the consequences.

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

The visa is (largely) irrelevant though, it's the validity of the work petition that matters (for I-94 purposes). Your work petition is valid for 12 months, hence you now need to renew/extend it for another period of time. I would strongly urge you to use an immigration attorney for this, as if you get an RFE you are going to delay (or even put at risk) your petition approval.

I know this doesn't need to be said, but I will say it just in case: the art is to get the petition in correctly the first time round to ensure no justification for an RFE is able to be made.

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

I certainly agree that it as to be done correctly the first time. We did he initial petition ourselves and get that all approved ok. I was just looking to see if anyone had done this before and what form they filed.

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Is an EAD required to extend a work petition though? I was under the belief an I-129 would need to be filed again to extend?

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

"work permit" is too ambiguous. There is something called an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which is obtained by filing an I-765 application. Is this what you need?

An I-129 is a visa petition, not a "work permit".

Rene

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Thanks Noorah, so just to confirm is it just the I-765 application that my husband needs to file? We have a valid US visa until 2017 but the initial notice of action from the USCIS (I-797b) is valid for1 year so that expires in December. Do you know if myself and the children have to apply for anything ( we do not want to work) or are our visa valid with my husband having work authorisation just like when he got the initial approval notice. Any advice/help would be much appreciated :)

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

From a quick search, an attorney confirms that an I-129 is required: http://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/is...ba-304597.html

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Nothing is required on the part of you or your child once your husband's L1 petition is extended.

Re: Renewal of work permit
 

Thank you hungaryhorace :)