Urgent please - Renew H1b or not?

[Sunny175]

My Green card is in the processing and H1B is due for renewal in few months.
I am on H1b for 4 1/2 years by now. I think it is good to have both H1b and EAD/AP just in case if any issue with 485.

My employer does not want to renew H1b (to save costs) and wants me to work on EAD.
Also saying it is common practice that most companies doing it and thinking it is very minimal risk of 485 denial. Asking for my thoughts on this.

Do I need to insist on renewing my H1b?
How expensive it is to renew h1b visa?
Please help me how should I respond to my employer in this case?

Thanks in advance.

[martinvisalaw]

Originally Posted by Sunny175

I think it is good to have both H1b and EAD/AP just in case if any issue with 485.

Yes, it is a good idea, if you can persuade the mployer to extend the H-1B [/quote]

Do I need to insist on renewing my H1b?

You probably can't insist on it, but you can ask.

How expensive it is to renew h1b visa?

This depends on the lawyer, and size of the employer, and whether it is the company's 2nd extension for you or not. The legal fees will probably be $2000 or so, and you can check the CIS website for filing fees which depend on the variables I list.

[yvvs73]

Hi:

I have a related question... I have a EAD and my I-485 is pending. I also have a H1-b petition that is valid till 2011 (although I don't have a H1-b stamp, and have entered the country on Advance Parole a couple of times). Suppose I switch from my current Company A to Company B. Can I switch on my EAD, and then get my H1-b petition ported to the new employer in future? I want to keep my H1-b petition alive, just in case something goes wrong with the Green card process.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[sunnymit]

Originally Posted by Sunny175

My Green card is in the processing and H1B is due for renewal in few months.
I am on H1b for 4 1/2 years by now. I think it is good to have both H1b and EAD/AP just in case if any issue with 485.

My employer does not want to renew H1b (to save costs) and wants me to work on EAD.
Also saying it is common practice that most companies doing it and thinking it is very minimal risk of 485 denial. Asking for my thoughts on this.

Do I need to insist on renewing my H1b?
How expensive it is to renew h1b visa?
Please help me how should I respond to my employer in this case?

Thanks in advance.

If you ever need to sponsor a dependent visa (H4) you won't be able to do it if you don't have a valid H1-B. Not sure if you are married or not but if not then it is definitely better to have the H1 B visa renewed..