TN Visa changing to H1B - Problem

Hello All,
I'm a Canadian citizen and I was working in the states since June 2010 as a contractor. The contracting agency sponsored me for TN Visa. After working for a year,the same company where I was placed in opened many full time positions in early 2011 and I applied for couple of positions and I got an offer for a permanent position. I switched to my full time job on April 2011. so In order to get me in fast into the full time payroll , my company transferred my TN visa sponsorship from the agency I used to work for to my new company and in parallel they started a process of applying for an H1B Visa for me. My H1B visa was approved on May 2011. I have been told since then that anytime after October 2011 when I leave to Canada and then come back I will switch to H1B. So far so good I guess.

Since October is approaching, I asked our HR department if anything needed from me in this process of switching to H1B. I heard very strange reply from HR , they told me as follows:
1- They told me that I have a valid TN until 2014 so they don't want to switch me to H1B as of Oct 2011,Instead they said it is better for me to wait until 2014 then activate my H1B in this case I will get an extra 6 yrs on the H1B, so this means I can stay legally employed in the US until 2020.

2- After I heard that I asked them , if this is the case why did you guys apply for an H1B for me right away, why didn't we wait until my TN gets close to its expiry date then I would applied for an H1B. The answer was that in order to have me in US payroll , they needed to apply for an H1B for me. so I asked then why dont you let me switch to H1B since I'm already approved for it. I couldn't get a good answer form them and I feel something is not going right.
I feel they are backing off from giving me the necessary papers to go to the border and get my H1B.

so my question here for the folks who have experience in this matter, is this even possible , I mean , it is possible for somebody who was approved for an H1B on May 2011 to go to the border three years later (say in 2014) and tries to stamp it in the passport. I found it hard to believe this is even possible. so If anybody have an idea why the company is doing this or what they are saying is correct please let me know.
I had lots of hopes in this job and I though with an H1B at least I can get 6 yrs of employment but now I m 6 months into this job and Im not sure how it will turn out. so any feedback from you guys will be helpful

Thanks all for reading

That a look at your H1-B approval -- if they will let you see it (it's an I-797)

If it has an I-94 attached to the bottom, you will AUTOMATICALLY be H1 on October 1. no need to go to border, and really, no choice either. If there is no I-94, then, yes, you would need to go to border, and you would only be in H1 status from that time until 9/30/2014.

Your H1-b petition is only good for 3 years, so -- even if you do not automatically become H1 on October 1, whenever you do get the new I-94, it will only be good until Sept 30, 2014. They will still have to petition a fresh 3 year H1 at that time.

What they are trying to do is save H1-b "clock" for you and them. You can only stay on h1 for 6 years, but anytime spent during that six year period, that you are not on h1 (including being out of the country) can be recaptured at the end. So I wouldn't worry about how much H1 time you will get.

What you should be worried about is (a) is their fooling around with you and (b) they may not realize that you will automatically be H1 on 10/1, and then have you improperly recorded as TN

btw, they are obvioulsy lying to you about the need for h1 to be on payroll. You are a TN and on payroll now.

I'm thinking that you aren't going to stay with these bozos for much past the next few months. Happy job hunting.

You might wonder wh ythey would file for you and then not give it. Note that H1's are subjec tto quota ,and this years quota use has been very light, so they may have wanted to ensure getting one for you while they could. Also, if they were filing many H1's there may have been some economy in filing yours at the same time. Since non-Cdns can't be on TN, they have to give these ones H1's, but your that can delay.

Thank you guys for the fast reply and helpful feedback:

I'm sure my I-797 doesn't have the I-94 attached to it , because they told me that they filed my H1-B as an out of country application ,so in order for me to get my H1-B I need to go to the border sometime after 01 oct 2011 and get it.

so correct me if I'm wrong , so H1-B clock starts from the year when your petition get approved and not from the date when you stamp it in the passport, did I get this right?
sometimes it might take people months before they could enter the country and stamp the H-1B ,does that mean they will lose that time from the six year.

You are incorrect on how H1 "clock" works. Only days in US while on H1 count towards your 6 year clock. Delay entry on h1, and your clock does not run.

However, your petition was approved for three years, so its expiry date cannot change. In 2014, thay can apply for another 3 year h1, and, if you don't activat it on October1, in 2017, they can petition for a third H1, for as many days that you/they can prove you were not in US on h1.

So, count the days that you are not physically in US in H1 for yourself. Your next employer will benefit from this.

I am the owner of a numbered company. A company which is attempting to hire me. Has had issues getting a contracted employee into the states on their visa? I would definitely like to contract through them as the money is substantially greater!! How do I go about this? I have a meeting with them in the next few days! A prompt response would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you very much!! Jayson