which center did you apply to renew?

talk to your lawyer I think you can reapply for H1b

raha yag… it is TSC

VershaJain my lawyer said that I have to leave the country and this would jeopardize my pending I-485…. I need some who had experience to share

ask him to make a case that u can’t go out bcoz of pandemic..

I’ll ask him. thanks for sharing this idea

what year of h1 are you on?

You mentioned that H1b visa expired in 7/20.. What about I-797.. is it valid still??

Versha Jain, I had three years on h1b. but then I used the EAD neo 22, the ead was via form I-765… I am not sure what you mean by I-797 … is it another visa or just the receipt notice of the renewal application

Hello K.. Sorry about your situation.. This is so frustrating that its taking so long to renew EAD, no option of premium processing. The silly thing about EAD is that you cannot work Until you have approval once you are beyond 6 months of expiry. With H1b.. atleast you are able to work as long the petetion is pending and was filed before expiration of prior status..

fyi k, I also let my h1 lapse and moved to ead receipt., I was told I could renew my h1 by my lawyers many time I asked should my ead extension not come in the right time. my ead did come in time though. I had my i-140.

OK coming to your question now, once your H1B status expires, the legal basis of your stay in US is solely based on pending i485, and the only legal basis of work would be EAD.. there are some who maintain that H1B status and use EAD For a second/Part time job.. so unfortunately, there is no way a new H1B can be sponsored to a person while in United States. It can only be RENEWED.. which needs to be applied Prior to the expiration of H-1b status This is because,, essentially a new visa is being sponsored to you, and for any country visa cannot be sponsored within the same country.. so I see two options- One is staying put and likely you will be placed on leave… but even if you don’t work your stay in US is valid as long as I-485 is pending. I know a few folks who have been out of work in the past for about 4 to 6 weeks until they got their EAD approved. Option 2- Given that your expedite request is denied, try to reach out to local congressman/senator office and sometimes they can reach out to USCIS if you can demonstrate significant hardship because of delay of your EAD.

my lawyers ( a huge firm for 60000 employees ) told me my h1 can be renewed should the need arise if my ead approval doesn't come in time .. I had I-140 approved. I'm not sure if that made a difference.

thank you all very much for sharing your knowledge and experience.

neo 22, thank you very much for taking the time to explain all possible scenarios of the situation.

AJ, I had my I-140 approved as well. as a matter of fact I had all the requirements of the I-485 submitted to uscis. my PD was on April 2019, and the I -485 was received by the uscis on 10/12/2019…. it is a long wait and very stressful

Happy to help. One thing I have done in the past is to get a second opinion.. I use Muthy Law firm.. but there are several other large law offices. The one I worked with in the past are Ann Badmus, Jan Pederson.. Depending on the their level of experience.. consultations can range from $250-450.. if it’s ok with you… it would be good to get an opinion.. This thing( EAD to H1b) is a grey area.. where not only knowledge but experience matters.. H1b and EAD.. are related to DOCTRINE OF DUAL INTENT… which has been interpreted in several different ways.. Wishing you good luck 👍

k a, i would go with neo's suggestion too. my lawyers assured me that my h1 could be revived if it came to the experience you are currently facing. I was skeptical but they didn't tell me how exactly despite asking. however I didn't get to that situation..

thank you both very much