The day H-1B status runs out, and the last day a PERM can be filed so the one-year extensions stay open. Every date comes with its citation, and nothing is predicted.
Or the earliest H-1B or L-1 start if the six years combine.
Time abroad during H-1B status can be recaptured.
Filed, or the date it's planned for.
H-1B status began
Six years end
Enter the first day of H-1B status
While an extension is pending: the 240-day rule
How long work with the same employer can go on after the I-94 ends, while a timely filed extension waits.
The end of the authorized stay.
The receipt date, by the same employer.
Stay ends
Day 240
Enter the I-94 end and the filing date
FAQs
What is the 365-day rule?
AC21 section 106(a), at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(D), lets an employer extend H-1B status in one-year increments beyond the six-year limit. It applies when a labor certification (the PERM) or an I-140 was filed at least 365 days before the extension would take effect, and the case hasn't been denied, withdrawn or abandoned. The PERM's filing date is DOL's receipt date, which is also the case's priority date.
What if the PERM is filed inside the last 365 days?
The one-year extensions under 106(a) aren't available on that filing. A three-year extension under section 104(c), at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(E), needs an approved I-140 and a priority date that isn't current. It doesn't depend on the 365 days. Time spent outside the United States during H-1B status can also be recaptured to push the limit later.
Does time in L-1 status count toward the six years?
Yes. INA 214(g)(4) and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(A) count time in H-1B and L-1 status together toward the six-year limit. Enter the earliest start of either status.
What is the 240-day rule?
8 CFR 274a.12(b)(20): when an H-1B extension by the same employer is filed before the I-94 ends, the worker may keep working for that employer for up to 240 days beginning on the day the stay expired, while the extension waits. A denial before then ends it. A new employer's petition works differently: under H-1B portability, 8 CFR 214.2(h)(2)(i)(H), an eligible worker may start the new job when its petition is filed, or on the start date it asks for if that's later.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's arithmetic on the dates you enter, with the regulation each date comes from. Whether your particular history qualifies, including gaps, recapture and prior petitions, is a question for the attorney who files.