H1 B Approved, Valid I-94, question regarding Change of Status

[Annie12]

Hi,

I have an approved H1 : Start date: October 1st 2012.

I am currently on H4: - I 94 valid till feb 2014 and H4 Visa stamped valid till Nov 2012.

My employer is threatening that if I do not have a project by 1st October, I will be terminated , in which case, I guess my H1 would be revoked. Will I be out of status then?

How do I avoid going out of status?

I do not have any documents pertaining to my H1 that is approved currently. So, in case my H1 is revoked, can I approach a new employer to file a new H1 or can I get the existing one transferred?

Appreciate any help.

[pontevecchio]

The more things change the more they are the same. Stay away from such fools. You have been capped. Find a new sponsor. Basically he needs to find you a job and not vice versa. Leave the country and come back on a H4 visa after October,1. In future stick to known companies.

[Annie12]

Thanks for the response. It's not clear if I will be out of status if I stay in US with a valid H4 stamp and my employer revokes my H1 which would be my status from 1st October.

Please clarify this.

[nineballs]

It depends. Most probably, you were approved with a H1b and were given I797A - which is H1 approval PLUS change of status. Assuming thats true, your status changes to H1 on Oct 1st. Now, If you dont have a Job on Oct 1st, you are unlawful anyways. It doesn't matter if your employer revokes the petition or not.

For you to be legal on H1, your petition should be valid and you should be on the job. I would say, Since you already have a H4 visa, go out of the country (Canda or mexico would be fine too), return your I94 and come back on Oct 1st (or any day after). When you enter the US, get a new I-94 with H4 status. that will make you legal. whenever you find the job after Oct 1st, change your status back to H1.

A good attorney can better explain this or provide better advise.

[kiran234]

VISA Stamp is only used to enter united states. so you cant continue to stay with just valid h4 stamp.

Yes , your legal stay in US will ends from the date your employer revokes H1B.

Different options...

1. your employer assigns works from oct 1st and pay you for that time

2 Apply for change of status to H4 before your employer revokes H1B.

3. Find a new employer and apply H1B throug that firm/company after Oct 1st and before your employer revokes H1B.

4. Ask your employer to revoke H1 B before Oct 1st so you can continue stay on H4.

Please check with qualified immigration attorney to find out which would be good and better choice for your case.

Please refer to te below murthy article about H1B layoffs

http://www.murthy.com/2012/08/27/h1b-workers-and-layoffs/

http://www.murthy.com/2012/09/18/h1b-layoff-strategy-when-changing-h1b-employer/

[pontevecchio]

Since the H1 revocation takes time you will be in H1 status from October,1. You can report for work and if he does not want to pay you for any reason file a complaint with the Federal DOL and then change status to H4 or find another sponsor. Better yet discuss the matter with say the firm of Murthy.

[Annie12]

Thank you all for the responses. There is however another situation that I am dealing with here : My husband is switching jobs and his new employer is filing for his H1 transfer and also my H4 extension. He has already filed it on the 25th September under premium processing. So if his petition is approved and my H4 with his new employer is approved after October 1st, will my status be fine?