lawyer is right but,

lawyer is right in terms of keeping your legal status.

but HR is also right, they have to see new H1 before they can pay.

so, if you don't get new H1 by the end of Nov., to avoid trouble, you can pay $1000 to go with premiun process. it takes 2 weeks. in some cases ur company may pay for you, depending on how much they rely on you.