Legal Question in Immigration Law in Florida

The H-1B category is limited to a maximum 6 years. The L-1A category is limited to 7 years. With the H-1B category you can extend past the 6 years ONLY if you have either (1) a labor cert process that was started at least one year ago, (2) if your I-140 has been pending a year or more, or (3) if you have an approved I-140 but your visa classification is backlogged.

As well, any time spent in H-1B or L-1 status counts towards the others limit. If you have 5.5 years in H-1B status, then you may be eligible for at least 1.5 years in L-1A status. If you have extended your H-1B past the 6 years as noted above, then you may not be able to change status to the L-1A.

The H-1B is favorable to some because it may be extended well beyond the 6 or 7 years you could have under L-1A status. This is usually favorable when the L-1A position may not be easily convertible to the currently available EB-1 category for permanent residence.

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