L1B to H1B

[ds_avatar]

Hi,

My case is bit complicated and any opinion in this regards will be sincerely appreciated.

I used to work with company A on L1 visa. For better prospects I decided to apply for H1B thru some consulting firm (Company B). Fortunately my application was selected and approved, My H1B is valid from 16-Jan2012 to Oct-2014.

After receiving H1B approval, I started searching for job and got selected by Company C (direct client of Company B). based on assurance from Company C, I resigned from Company A and my last working day was on 31 Jan 2012.

I was about to start my new job from 01-Feb, but at last moment the project got scraped and now I am jobless :(

I have following questions:

• I have been told that there is 60 days grace period and I can hunt for new job till 16 March 2012 without running my payroll. Is this correct?
  

• Can I change my H1B employer (Company B) despite of not working for him for a single day? ( If yes, will my last two pay stubs from company A be sufficient to apply for H1B transfer? Or do I need pay stub from Company B, who is my original H1B employer? )
  

• If I don’t get job till 16 Mar 2012, apart from going back to my home country, Do I have any other options?
  

Thank you in advance for your time and opinion.

[Chitown01]

1. There is NO Grace period on H1.

2. You can start working wtih B since they have approved petition for you starting 16 Jan 2012 as long as company B is ready to take you, you can work with them and you should be good....

[SG81]

Does,it have any effect on L1,if H1-petition is denied ?Pls answer...Thanks