H1 approved, but no joining date - will H1 be valid?

[rahul58]

Hi,

I’m currently on H4 visa dependent on my spouse’ H1. I got an offer for a full time position from a big company and they had filed H1 for her and got it approved on September 13^th.

The joining date was supposedly sometime in September and got postponed to January 2013 due to project availability. Although I have completed the pre-joining formalities with the employer, I yet to join though and not yet on their payroll.

My question is – is there a timeframe that I would need to join with the employer in order to maintain the validity on the H1? I heard I would need to join within 3 months from the date the H1 petition was approved, not sure if this is true.

Could you please provide any pointers? Appreciate your guidance.

[pontevecchio]

I AM CONFUSED. wHO IS IN h1 STATUS AND WHO IS IN h4 STATUS? oR WAS?

[rahul58]

Sorry, there was a typo in the original post, Its for me, I'm currently on H4 and a company filed H1 for me and approved 2 months back, I yet to join with the employer who filed my H1.

[nineballs]

Since its a change of status from H4->H1, you can delay the joining for a maximum of 60 days from your H1B start day. The employer has to pay you the salary from 61st day onwards, whether there is a project or not.

Project availability is not your headache.