Hello @Anil_Gupta , i received RFE on 15th day and they have asked for previous i797 approval copy which i dont have and previous company extension is in RFE.they have also asked for specialty occupation.
Since my period of authorised stay is ending in april 8th i have decided to travel back to india on april5th and respond to rfe from india.
Will there be any problem in responding rfe from india?
Do u think i have any other option but to go back and respond?
I think it is better to leave and then respond to RFE.
@Anil_Gupta thanks for your response. H1b transfer was filed for change of status and during rfe stage can we request consular processing? Since i will be responding from india. Will it have any impact on the transfer?
If you leave, USCIS will automatically approve it as ‘Consular processing’.
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Scenario- I-94 expired and H1 B extension in process.
If new employer files H1B transfer now as the I-94 is expired
Question-
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is the H1B transfer based on H1B extension with the current employer ?
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is it possible that H1B transfer gets approved first and H1B extension gets denied later then Transfer will also be considered denied???
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will the H1B Transfer I-797 will have I-94 attached with it??
Hi @kanika
I have moved your question on this page as they are related. Please read the above discussion as it has answers for your questions.
Let me know if you need more information.
Thanks for information.
I got some part of answers to my question. Can you please answer the below
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Is it possible that H1B transfer gets approved first and H1B extension gets denied later then Transfer will also be considered denied???
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Will I get RFe on transfer saying your petition is already pending?
Hi @kanika
Both options are possible.
See this case where transfer received an RFE after approval as the pending extention got RFE.
Can H1B transfer application be moved back to RFE after it has been approved? - #2 by Anil_Gupta
Can we file H-1B amendment while H1B extension is in process and I -94 is in process?
Hi @kanika
If you mean that you can file H1B Amendment after current i94 expiry, then yes, you can file Amendment but your pending extension will still be counted as a ‘bridge’.
If your extension is denied, your amendment will either be denied or will get RFE to wait for extension result.
@Anil_Gupta , I traveled to India after i received RFE on my H1b transfer (Bridge). From India i replied to RFE and now it got approved with I94 attached (I797A) and not consular.
Thank you.
USCIS makes these kind of mistakes and weird decisions. But, you cannot really rely on USCIS in these matters.
The onus of maintaining the status is always on you and not USCIS.
You did the right thing and can apply for H1B visa now and then enter USA.
@Anil_Gupta Hi,
Yes i agree. Hope this conversation will help all the viewers. The only worry now is 221g for stamping. Consulates are issuing 221g and delaying the decisions for almost 90% of the cases. Do you have any suggestions to avoid 221g?
There are no tricks to avoid form 221g. It all depends on your employer’s paperwork and what the visa officer asks.
@Anil_Gupta As expected received 221G with below.
- Complete petition set with all supporting documents submitted to USCIS
- W-2 and payslip for 2 years
- Client documents like SOW,PO.
Do you have any idea why would consular officer ask entire petition submitted to uscis? payslip and w-2 and client documents makes sense but why entire petition set?
My opinion is that Visa officer wants to check your Employer and petition details.
Since you moved out of US while RFE was pending and USCIS approved it without consular processing, they probably want to verify everything again.
Is your employer a small consulting company ot a known one or are you working full time with direct client?
@Anil_Gupta i work for a big indian MNC. Mine is EC model. Client provided a new SOW and PO when i moved back and now since my petition is approved they also extended onsite SOW today till dec19.
My company has provided complete initial petition which was initially filed but they have not provided RFE response documents and they are saying initial petition documents should be fine. What do you think? Also my company has MSA for next 5 years.
I guess then i should be worried now and expect huge delay.
As per current cases that I am seeing, it is possible that you may have to wait more than 8 weeks as your passport has been returned.
@Anil_Gupta
Update 1:
When i sent my passport through drop box option they returned the passport with 221G and called for interview with below documents.
- Complete initial petition set
- 2 years payslip
- Project related documents(SOW,MSA)
on July 1st, I attended interview with all the requested documents and CO did not even check any of the documents. She just verified the pay slip for 4 months and said your visa approved but to issue visa i need to send
- Resume
- List of publications and research
- Invitation letter and CO kept the passport with them and gave me pink slip.
I have provided all the documents on 8th July 2019 and final wait has started.