H1 and L1 - How much can I stay in US?

[Sourabh79]

Hi, I came to USA from India on H1B first time in June 2007, then after my visa got expired and I filed Blanket L1 in 2008 from India, and came back to USA. In 2012, I filed new L1 but this time individual and came back to USA in Mar 2012, In total I visited USA 6 times on three different Visa and my total stay so far is around 32 months, but never stay in india for complete 1 year from 2007 and till date. Can you please let me know, how much more I can stay in USA? I am little confused. Currently I have I94 till Jan 2014 and I am on L1 Individual. Thanks in advance for help.

[anand_787]

Ok... so i've done this many times so I can guide you.

The total max stay on L1B is 5 years (initially you get L1 for 3 years and then you can extend it by another 2 yrs)
The total max stay on L1A is 7 years
The total max stay on H1B is 6 years

L1 and H1 are classified under work permit visa category. The max you can stay on L1B + H1 combined is 6 years. Rules for L1A are different.

In order to reset the clock, you have to stay outside US for 1 complete year. Then you can come back to US and stay for 6 years without any problem. ALso, any time that you spend outside US is calculated against those 6 years. For eg if you went to India for vacation/marriage for 2 months, then those 2 months are NOT counted towards the 6 year term. In any case you (NOT USCIS) is responsible for your returning back to india legally before the 6 year term expires.

I have see cases where people get L1 stamped for 3 more yrs after their initial 3 yrs get expired and they assume that they can stay in US for a total of 6 yrs on L1B...that is NOT correct.

[Sourabh79]

Thanks for your reply, so that mean, in total so far my stay in US is 32 months in last 5 years and I can still stay for about 28 months in USA. Thanks in advance for your help