COS from H1B to L1A after working fpr 7 years in USA?

USA L Visa
1

Hi,

I started working with a company in USA on H1B visa from from Oct-2010 to Jun-2016.
I was out of country and started working at managerial position for the same company outside of USA from June-2016 to Aug-2017(14 months).
I came back to USA in August 2017 in H1B visa extended on I-140 on EB2 and resumed USA office with the same employer now.

My employer is willing to do convert my case from EB2 to EB1 but want to apply L1A->EB1C route. So my questions are…

  1. Since I was out of country for more than year(June-2016 to Aug-2017) and entered the US back in Aug-2017 using my extended H1B petition, my clock does not reset?
  2. As I have completed around 7.2 years of my total H1B stay so far, Am I still eligible for CHANGE OF STATUS from H1B to L1A now?

Thanks in Advance.

2

H1B 6 year clock reset

For H1B 6 year clock to reset, you should have applied for H1B in cap subject lottery again.
If you are still using the same H1B, then the total 6 year limit still applies as it has only been counted in cap once.

Change of status from H1B to L1A

I am afraid that you will have to stay outside USA for at-least 1 year to get eligible for L1 visa.

What did your attorney suggested?