H1b Extension/ Transfer - New job (employer B), 140 approved from employer A, H1B approved from employer A


Recommended Posts

Hello, 

I am currently working with employer A and I do have a job offer from employer B. My 6 year H1b ended on 26th Sept 2013 and my current employer A filed for my extension on July 18th 2013 (regular) + my wife's I539 for H4. 

Because of the govt shutdown, the employer B is unable to file for my extension and waiting on DOL to open up. 

 

  • Employer B was preparing for my H1B extension based on my 140 approval from employer A as of 10/1 when the govt shutdown happened but couldnt proceed with LCA and then filing of application due to govt shutdown and no LCA. 
  • I just got email notifications on Oct 9th that my employer A H1B/ I129 and H4/ I539 have both been approved
  • Since it takes 1-2 weeks to receive the approval notice , is it possible that the employer B can file for an extension with email notifications only once the govt opens up (and without any physical copies of the H1B / I129 and H4/ I539 approval notices? I have provided all the other documentation that is required  but awaiting I797 approval notice of employer A while government may open up.. 

I want to leave the employer A badly and hoping/ praying that employer B dont revoke their offer due to the delays from govt shutdown and this confusion.. Please provide your answer to my question whether the employer B can file for a transfer with just the email notification approvals on my receipt numbers? 

 

Thanks, 

Link to comment

I am in a similar boat. I am sure if employer B hired you already and started your paperwork already, you dont have to worry about loosing job offer. It is a pain for employer to find the right candiate and they have invested so much in you that they would not take offer back.

One of my friends situation is similar, he LCA wasnt approved yet but he left his previous job to join a new employer. it is a fortune 500 semi company and his immigration lawyer menioned something about applying for USCIS with a conditional LCA application to be provided for H1B transfer approval. I did not hear back from him yet. I will let you know if i find out anything.

Link to comment

hello Aru_unique,

 

If I were in your situation, then I would ask employer B attorney to start the process for applying your transfer (let them know your situation they will guide you the best possible way). Now that the DOL is closed they will have to wait, until then work for Employer A. Lets say that DOL opened today and you dont have the 797 forms yet from employer A, I would still ask employer B to start h1b transfer in normal process, after you get 797 forms from EA ammend your petition and do premium processing. because EB has initiated your process already they would mind ammending it in future (better if you attorneys aproves it before).

 

My situation is similar too, was part of RIF on Aug 12 2013. got a job on AUG 28th 2013 but had delays in applying for transfer start date Sept 16th. USICS recipet date sept 12th. now i hav a better full time opp at a big company. so i will ask the company to apply for a transer based on my old H1B visa (this is revoked on sept 19th) in PP.  if the new petition gets approved with new 194 i am good, if not i will exit and enter US. If i get an RFE, then i will show proof my current receipt, vendor letter, client letter and employement offer letter. i came to know yesterday that my friend got his H1B petition approved without the last three months paychecks i.e, without job for 3 months (his H1B petition wasnt revoked)

 

hope this will relax your nerves and work for EA until everything clears out at EB and then join EB.

Link to comment

My new employer applied for LCA this Monday. My lawyer suggested that he will apply for my H1B petition in PP but menitoned that I may have to leave USA and get a new I94 (worst case scenario).

also my current employer agreed to do PP this friday. If this happens then I will ask my new employer to delay the process for a week and see what happens with my current petition. If the curent petition decision takes too long, then I will ask new employer to file for my petition. (i think that he plans on doing it in CP. I will verify it.) 

 

Lets say that I have a H1B pending from A and H1B approved from B without I94. then Whom should i be working for? (since my I94 is valid with A's petition, i am assuming that i will have to work for A). To work for B, I will have to leave US and then re-enter with B's documents.

 

Please clarify the above statement.

 

Also, I have a question about automatic visa revalidation, if i have an i94 to work for A and I have approved H1B without I94 for B, When I cross Mexico or Canada broder, i I were not issued a new I94 but show proof of B's documents to enter legally, then whom should i be working for A or B?

 

your opinons would be much appreciated.

Link to comment

Thats a very tough question Venki. I think your company B lawyer may be able to give you a better answer if you have an option to consult with them. 

I hope it works fine for you.

 

My concern is why my new employer lawyers are unable to file my LCA saying that the iCERT portal is down and adding delay in the process. Wonder how your lawyers were able to file for LCA and my lawyers are unable to file giving the reason that the portal is hanging up on them. 

Link to comment

I do know for the fact that once the LCA is certified and then the employer applies for H1B and you get your receipt number, you are eligible to work for the new employer. I am not sure about the I94 / expiry issue. 

 

Is any regular processing on the company A on going and they plan to switch to premium? If yes, then you are not out of status (according to my understanding) and you may not have to leave the US, but if your H1B extension was not filed when your I94 expired , then that scenario is something u must discuss with employer B lawyer I believe. 

Link to comment

hey Venki418, no update on my case yet. LCA doesnt show up as being filed on my employers portal. (really concerns me inspite of my multiple follow-ups last week but dont want to come across too pushy as well).

I797 approvals have come through from my employer 1 for me and my wife (H1B and H4).

 

Also, the company 2 lawyers mentioned that they need some paperwork to be completed for my wife's H4 transfer and they planned to send the forms over to me+ my wife (again, heard nothing back from them yet which concerns me). 

 

I am wondering how your current employer applied for PP with USCIS while LCA in progress with DOL - dont they need the certified LCA to be able to file for extensions/ transfers? Good to know that your case is moving forward fast. 

Link to comment

current employer(A) filed for PP, i dont have my approved i797 forms to apply a transfer for new company(X and LCA is in process for X applied on 10/21). X attorney did not want to file petition as a bridge so he told me he could wait for approval from A or do a CP which means, I wil have to exit and enter US.

 

Contact the new employer HR/ hiring manager and see if they can help speed up things for you by taking to your attorney directly. Currently attorneys are facing problems applying for LCA and getting approvals in the 7 working days period. I came to know of this from other forums. the news is that by this Friday, the DOL is expected to fucntion normally and process applications on FIFO basis.

 

My expected start date was 11/11 but because of all delays it may get postponed beyond Nov. i am expecting to start on 1st week of Dec.

Link to comment

thats great to know Venki. My employer B also plans to file for PP H1B transfer once LCA comes through. The challenge has been just filing for this LCA since 10/18 through now and yes, I am seeing an alert on the iCert website: "ALERT - The Labor Certification Registry is temporarily unavailable...

The Labor Certification Registry is temporarily unavailable as we make system improvements. We apologize for the inconvenience. We anticipate the system will be available again on Friday, November 1st."
I have tried all avenues including calling recruiting/ Hiring manager , calling lawyers etc. last week - i got a hint that I shouldnt do that, and they say that there is nothing they can do at this point and have to wait for their law firm (external 3rd party) to file LCA. I dont want to make anybody mad now in this stage since I really do want to get out from this employer A (really sucks as there is a lot of stress on my current project)..
My original expected start date before govt shutdown was Nov 4th.. then moved to Nov 18th.. now I dont think with 2 weeks notice at my current employer, even Nov 18th or December 2nd is feasible.. will have to monitor and see that the LCA is applied and certified soon so I can put my papers down. I am scared that in such situations hopefully the employers dont retract their offers..
What is the timing when you can put your papers down? - post LCA certifiaction approval (or) post H1B application receipt i.e H1 application filing?
Link to comment

Sorry to hear that your lawyer is unable to file for LCA.

Now that i think of it, you are correct about not contacting employer frequently. they will go by what the attoney tells them. I hope everything will clear out by this week and you will have certified LCA by next week.

 

Your last question about papers down, I did not understand that part. But if you are asking when to give resignation notice to current employer, then I will follow the below to be on the safe side.

I will wait for the approval from new employer, then let current employer know that i am planning to move out and depending on their response, i will make a decision whether to quit the same day or two week notice period.

 

About retracting offers, I dont think any company will do that knowing current delays at DOL. and this is a holiday season so, there will be a hiring freeze unless the company is absolutely in need of someone today. So you should be good even if you get your approval by mid of Dec.

 

Which state is your new employer and attorney in?

 

I got acknowledgment form USCIS about my PP yesterday.

Link to comment

my employer and attorney are in CA.

 

My LCA on Visajobs states pending-co decision unassigned, i think DOL partially stopped processing applications while they update their website and get application processed in FIFO order. this is just a speculation as I have not seen any one reporting approvals since yesterday.

 

I am also eagerly waiting for my LCA approval and my pp is in acceptance. Hopefully I will see some progress by end of this week.

 

If I find out any updates from my attroney about DOL, I will post it here. Aslo follow some discussion on ******** forum about LCA. this may give you a little more info on where DOL stands currenly in accepting and processing applications.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.