H1B visa for out of status graduate...

[elpeter84]

Hi good people,
I came to the States about 4 years ago and stayed here beyond my authorized stay on the J1 visa that was originally given to me for only several months. I was able to enroll in the community college, received my AA degree and then I got accepted in the University of California. This summer I was proud to receive Bachelor's Degree in Economics as well as I was able to renew my passport through russianpassportservice.com here in America.
Now I am planning to apply for H1B petition next year by April. I know that even if my petition gets approved here, I will still have to travel to St. Petersburg to receive a new visa in my passport. The attorney at law here in California advised that if I leave the USA I will not be subject to bar for 2 reasons:
1. By Law, my D/S on I 94 is so-called "duration of stay" states "Aliens admitted D/S. Nonimmignants admitted D/S who leave the United States while the E/S or C/S application is pending are not subject to section 222(g) of the Act, if no status violation was found that would have resulted in the termination of the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General. In addition, D/S nonimmigrants whose C/S or E/S applications were denied for reasons other than a status violation are not subject to section 222(g) of the Act." Simply, the petition can not be denied even though person overstays his or her visa.
2. What' interesting is that H1B visa is the only "dual intent" US visa, which can not be denied based on any immigration reasons if the applicant received H1B petition.

If there are any people who had a similar situation or any certified attorney that practiced such cases please let me know.
Best and thanks for reading.

[Alex_3112]

Neither #1 nor #2 is relevant in your situation (well, #2 is, but it's a different matter).

The most important thing is - when did you apply for your first F1, with respect to your J1 status timeframe?

[elpeter84]

To clarify I never held any F1, I came on J1 and overstayed it. I attended both schools as a resident.

[alvina]

To clarify I never held any F1, I came on J1 and overstayed it. I attended both schools as a resident.

I am curious how was it possible to attend both school without providing your visa status. What did you put on your admission application when you applied for admission? If you are not a citizen you had to supply your A number or I could be wrong; otherwise, you are treated as an international student and their first question is what is your visa status.

[elpeter84]

I am curious how was it possible to attend both school without providing your visa status. What did you put on your admission application when you applied for admission? If you are not a citizen you had to supply your A number or I could be wrong; otherwise, you are treated as an international student and their first question is what is your visa status.

Alvina, good question. Well, I am sure lots of people without imm status would want to know, however, I would like to keep it private. I think California State law provides in state tuitions to children of illegal immigrants...;-) But I do not have any visa status at the moment.
I am interested if someone's got the similar situation (got BA then got H1B Petition and traveled back home for an interview with expired visa but Duration of Stay on I 94 form) or any certified immigration attorney who practices such rare cases in the past? Thanks