Am i out of status with two I-797s

[arjunmca]

Hi,

I have a different situation. Two employers A, B filed H1b with in a week difference, both got approved. I went to stamping with employer A, visa approved and came to US.

Due to salary issues, employer A cancelled my H1b without notice. What about my status after H1b cancellation.

1) Am i out of status?

2) Cant my status valid with employer B I-797

3) If i am out of status, will be a problem for my green card process?

Thanks.

[itsmeusa]

From my understanding,

1. No, you are still in status provided you have employer B's H-1B approval notice and B is ready to hire you.

2. Yes, please refer to 1.

3. First get on with emloyer B asap.

[arjunmca]

From my understanding,

1. No, you are still in status provided you have employer B's H-1B approval notice and B is ready to hire you.

2. Yes, please refer to 1.

3. First get on with emloyer B asap.

Thanks for your response.

Some one says that even though i have employer B's I-797 valid petition, i will be out of status, because employer A's terminated me. Either i need to transfer employer A petition to employer B( New petition) or need to go out of the US and get stamped with employer B petition and enter into with employer B I-94.

How many days it will take to cancel employer A petition in the USCIS from date of termination.

[catx]

There are no days. A H-1B visa is deemed terminated the same day as the foreign worker's employment ends. There no extra days / period from the date of termination regardless of how long it takes to notify the USCIS and for them to process the notification.

[itsmeusa]

@arjunmca, I have had first hand experience, very similar to this, so my response was coming from that. And I still stand correct on what I said. Remember you have so-called parallel petitions. So you do not need to transfer anything to employer B. And definitely no need to go out of country and get stamping. That's absolutely not needed. Only thing is that employer B should hire you right away. The more time you loose in waiting, it will not help you. So talk to employer B and see if you can join them ASAP. I would take one step at a time rather than thinking how it will impact green card. What if someone tells you it does, will you not join employer B and go back to India. So, join employer B and tackle with problems when they arise :-) Best of luck.

[arjunmca]

Hi Itsmeusa,

Thanks for the response. But some other guys are telling differently.

I knew that they are telling only am unemployed and they are not telling my status is valid with employer B I-797.

Please look at the below link.

http://forum.murthy.com/index.php?/topic/53175-h1b-out-of-status-causes-greencard-problem/page__fromsearch__1

[arjunmca]

@arjunmca, I have had first hand experience, very similar to this, so my response was coming from that. And I still stand correct on what I said. Remember you have so-called parallel petitions. So you do not need to transfer anything to employer B. And definitely no need to go out of country and get stamping. That's absolutely not needed. Only thing is that employer B should hire you right away. The more time you loose in waiting, it will not help you. So talk to employer B and see if you can join them ASAP. I would take one step at a time rather than thinking how it will impact green card. What if someone tells you it does, will you not join employer B and go back to India. So, join employer B and tackle with problems when they arise :-) Best of luck.

Employer B verified with attorney, he says that either Employer B has to transfer I-797 from Employer A to Employer B or i need to go out of the country and get stamped with Employer B petition and come back to US.

Do you have a strong proof or you know any attorney who can help in this situation?

[itsmeusa]

I can only tell you more about my own case wherein my H-1B transfer from A to B took around 15 years. In such cases, you get around 240 days valid for working with B. And my lawyer was very much concerned and was of opinion that I should stop working after 240 days. When I showed her my petition that A extended for next 2 years and then she was little relaxed saying that if you did not have this petition, you would have been in troble. I could have stayed inside US waiting to hear on transfer, but could not work. But I kept working and this particular case was never a problem. After that, my H-1B was renewed twice, I recenlty got H-1B stamp, got EB-3 I140 approved.

If you see, I was also going by my lawyer's advice as they know more on such cases. But I kept feeding them information.

Now that your lawyer gave you their position, you have to go by it. Hope you would settle this thing as quickly as you can.

[arjunmca]

I can only tell you more about my own case wherein my H-1B transfer from A to B took around 15 years. In such cases, you get around 240 days valid for working with B. And my lawyer was very much concerned and was of opinion that I should stop working after 240 days. When I showed her my petition that A extended for next 2 years and then she was little relaxed saying that if you did not have this petition, you would have been in troble. I could have stayed inside US waiting to hear on transfer, but could not work. But I kept working and this particular case was never a problem. After that, my H-1B was renewed twice, I recenlty got H-1B stamp, got EB-3 I140 approved.

If you see, I was also going by my lawyer's advice as they know more on such cases. But I kept feeding them information.

Now that your lawyer gave you their position, you have to go by it. Hope you would settle this thing as quickly as you can.

In my case, employer A terminated and cancelled my H1b petition. I am tring to transfer after H1b cancellation.

What is your case? Have you tried to transferred when employer A H1b was valid or after termination and cancel the petition?

As employer A cancelled my H1b, visa also be cancelled?

My employer B is telling that I-94 is the problem to work with them without transfering the H1b from employer A.

To get I-94 on employer B can i go out of the US and come back with employer A visa and B I-797?

As employer A cancelled H1b petition, visa also be cancelled immediately from the date and time of termination?

Is it a risky process?

[itsmeusa]

Dear arjunmca, what exactly you are expecting from forum discussion. Well, you have to take all advice here with a grain of salt. Altimately you need to go by lawyer's advice. And if company's lawyer has firm opinion about how they want to process your case, find another employer who can help you. Visa is valid as long as underlying petition is valid. So instead of discussing on forums, please find an employer ASAP who can help. As I mentioned earlier, the more you wait, it complicates the case. In this scenario, you should not have too many criteria to join the employer. Hope I can be more helpful.

[arjunmca]

In my case, employer A terminated and cancelled my H1b petition. I am tring to transfer after H1b cancellation.

What is your case? Have you tried to transferred when employer A H1b was valid or after termination and cancel the petition?

As employer A cancelled my H1b, visa also be cancelled?

My employer B is telling that I-94 is the problem to work with them without transfering the H1b from employer A.

To get I-94 on employer B can i go out of the US and come back with employer A visa and B I-797?

As employer A cancelled H1b petition, visa also be cancelled immediately from the date and time of termination?

Is it a risky process?

@ItsmeUSA

could you send a email to mca.arjun@gxxxx.com

[Attorney_25]

Your I-94 gives you H-1B status. Even though it may have an employer listed on the back, it is not employer-specific. This is a conclusion from laws, regulations and various USCIS memos and policies. You would do well to have a qualified attorney write an opinion letter on the legal basis for your continuing status. Or, if B feels more comfortable, they can file an amended petition, but it's not clear what they would be amending if their job offer to you hasn't changed.

[Attorney_25]

One other possibility, since there is reasonable disagreement on this issue, is to use your valid visa to travel to Canada or Mexico and re-enter. Be sure to tell the CBP when you re-enter that you will be working for a different employer, and show "Employer B's" I-797, along with the visa for "Employer A." You may be given a new I-94 or CBP may just record your entry without a new I-94. If you want a clear record that you entered to work for Employer B, you can try requesting a new I-94.

[arjunmca]

One other possibility, since there is reasonable disagreement on this issue, is to use your valid visa to travel to Canada or Mexico and re-enter. Be sure to tell the CBP when you re-enter that you will be working for a different employer, and show "Employer B's" I-797, along with the visa for "Employer A." You may be given a new I-94 or CBP may just record your entry without a new I-94. If you want a clear record that you entered to work for Employer B, you can try requesting a new I-94.

Thanks for the reply.

If i dont need to go for stamping, then its fine. My biggest worry is, i must go for stamping with employer B petition. As employer A cancelled H1b, am thinking that visa also be cancelled with the employer A I-797 petition.

Please confirm.