H1 Expiring , looking for other options to stay in the country

Hi Saurabh,

I am here in US with my wife (Her perm got filed this month and her H1 is valid till 1/2014) and we both are working on H1-visa in NC. My H1 is expiring on May 2013 ( including stay outside US) and my company had started my GC process and then it got stuck at the wage determination stage with DOL and tentative date for filing labor is May 2013. My employer has asked me to leave the country and they are trying out Canada also as alternate location to work, which is one option.But I am assuming if I opt in for this alternative then I can come back to US only when my I-140 gets approved and 3 year extension is applied on my existing H1.( FYI, my place of birth is Spain).

Second option I am considering is to stay in US on H4-visa. And do a full time MBA. I believe i will be eligible for in state tution fee as I am staying in the same state for 5 years now. My company provides a option to take a break for a year once in the employment timeframe, so I am thinking to use this and ask my company to revert me back to H1, so that my GC also continues to progress.

I am not sure if there are any other options left, (going back to India is not an option as my wife has a stable job here).

Really appreciate all your help, I hope this background helps you to provide a suitable advice for me.

Both are valid options, and I can’t think of another one.

In the 1st one, you can stay outside US for more than 1 year, go through cap again and enter US on H-1. This will be helpful if I-140 takes time to get approved.