Change of Status or Consular processing.

[kumarvojjala]

Hi.. I am loooking for some suggestions from the group.. and following is my situation..

1. I have an approved H1B petition from X INC for 2017 year which is valid till September 19th, 2020. The X company is a startup product based company. I never went for stamping with this petetion.
2. I am presently in USA on L1 visa from Y company and working for them presently in USA. My L1 visa is granted in August 2018 and I came to USA in September 2018.
3. For some reasons, I would like to join X INC at there office in California as they have an opportunity for me.
4. I would like to check  which one to choose between Change of status vs Visa stamping. Would like to select the option which is very less risky. Please note that petetion is approved in 2017.
5. X company attorney is suggesting me to go for visa stamping and here is the exact response from her in her own words. "We could file a petition here, however as the H1b petition has not been activated USCIS may not consider it exempt from quota and issue RFE. There is a risk with filing a Change of Status. Stamping currently is the best option. If you want to take your chances with doing a Change of Status USCIS filing while he is here, let me know. Here, until the COS is granted he cannot work for you."

Please let me know your suggestions.

[adshah84]

I would suggest to go with Stamping. This is my personal view.