I self filed my EB1 EA & EB2 NIW petitions on 8/10/2011. My 6th year of H1B is ending on 9/30/2011. On 11/21/2011 my EB1 EA petition was denied. While I am waiting for a decision on my EB2 NIW case, I am also filing an appeal (i290B) and requesting to reopen my EB1 EA case since the reasons for denial aren't convincing and the officer hasn't reviewed/considered a lot of evidences submitted.

My questions are:
(1) Will my employer be able to extend my H1B visa based on the pending appeal (P.S. the appeal review has 16 months waiting time based on current processing time posted on USCIS) and if yes,
(2) When can my employer file the H1B extension?

Would you please let me know.