H1b extension in 7th year and PERM filing

[veran 0]

Hello Gurus,

Need help with this situation.

I am with company A on L1A visa since 1st Aug 2010.

Also have a H1B processed visa with company B under Consular Processing mode which is valid until 1 Dec 2015.(Note- My 6 years in US completes on 31st July 2016).

Pl note that I am still working on L1A visa only.

Now I have an offer from Company B which will transfer my L1A to H1(COS).

Company C plans to initiate my Green card processing after 6-8 months post joining.

This means my PERM(ETA from 9089) will be filed with DOL somewhere around 1st Feb 2015. It's considering the fact that preparation/PWD/advertisement/recruitment process will start around Oct 2014 and take upto 4 months.

Honestly speaking with these timelines, I am little worried that it will have an impact on my H1B extension.

Following are my queries;

1) In order to extend my h1b visa, Does PERM have to be approved before my H1b visa Expiry date(1 Dec 2015) or PERM has to be approved before I complete 6 yrs stay in US(which would be 31st July 2016 technically) ?

2) Under happy path scenario, if my PERM is approved by July 2015, are there any risk/challenges with getting H1b extension?

3) What is latest time the PERM needs to be approved by so that my H1b extension can be applied without any risk of rejection?

4) Finally, Will it be a 1 year validity if H1b is extended?

Appreciate your valuable response since this will help in deciding if I should honor job offer from company C or not.