H1B Laid off , options?

[suman84]

Hi Folks,

I came to US on a student visa and once graduated started working for a company X on OPT and then my H1B started October 2012. Unfortunately due to bad business they laid off 1500 employees all over the world and me being one of those. I already spoke to a murthy law attorney 20 minutes phone appointment and explained her the situation. I asked her for options and changing my status to F1 didn't seem to be the right one and she assumed that my H1B might be already revoked but just today I have found out from my ex employee H1B petitioner (attorney) that they haven't notified USCIS yet about my H1B cancellation and they might take another week to send that. I have been receiving severance payments until Jan 25, 2013.

So in current situation will I be able to have my petition approved for a change of status to F1?

How many days does USCIS take to process once they receive a revoke notification? Say if I find an employer in the mean time and apply for a H1B transfer in premium before my H1B gets revoked then what are my chances for acceptance?

I know for any transfer the pay slips come into play either from H1 to F1 or H1B to H1B transfer but is there any advantage to H1B not getting revoked?

[rahul412]

So in current situation will I be able to have my petition approved for a change of status to F1?

How many days does USCIS take to process once they receive a revoke notification? Say if I find an employer in the mean time and apply for a H1B transfer in premium before my H1B gets revoked then what are my chances for acceptance?

I know for any transfer the pay slips come into play either from H1 to F1 or H1B to H1B transfer but is there any advantage to H1B not getting revoked?

Looks like from Jan 26th you are not getting paid. If that's true then currently you are out of status.

Forget about F1, if want to study then go for F1 and as you know to complete any program under F1 it takes 2yrs min

Their is nothing beneficial to you if your h1 is not revoked. Once you are laid off, you are out of status.

[wiweq]

"So in current situation will I be able to have my petition approved for a change of status to F1?"

=> As attorney has suggested you F1 is not a good option, you may try for B1. Give the reason that you have been in USA for a long time and you need some time to pack up.

"How many days does USCIS take to process once they receive a revoke notification? Say if I find an employer in the meantime and apply for a H1B transfer in premium before my H1B gets revoked then what are my chances for acceptance?"

=> You must have got termination letter, the date mentioned on that letter is your last date on H1b. Make sure that your employer doesn't revoke your H1b before that date. It doesn't matter to you if your employer revokes the H1b after that day or not. It also doesn't matter how many days USCIS takes to do this. For you, H1b status stops when your relation with your employer stops. Severance pay after the date or termination doesn't put you in-status.

What to do: Don’t wait for H1b, file a COS to B1 ASAP. You can file I359 online. Though the actual receipt will reach you once you send the all document, but you will be considered in-status once you applied for this COS. Getting receipt will take 20-30 days. Meanwhile find an employer who can file your H1b. Use the B1 (COS) receipt and your employer will file H1b to H1b extension (so called transfer). Do it in PP. B12 receipt makes sure that you were in status after losing H1b status. Once your H1b is approved, you can cancel your B1 processing by writing an application to USCIS.

[Xcalibur]

You are literally out of status the day you were fired. The fact that you are getting severance pay is not relevant to your status.

Since you have an already approved H1b, you are cap exempt. If you can find an employer willing to file a H1B you should do it ASAP.

There is no specific rule that you can stay out of status for x number of days. The employer filing your new H1B should be able to explain why there was a delay in filing a H1B for you.

If you cannot find a H1B sponsor sooner, you should change your status to B1/B2 in order to legally remain here.

[wiweq]

"The employer filing your new H1B should be able to explain why there was a delay in filing a H1B for you"

=> I don't think there is any explanation for this delay unless it's documented medical emergency. Packing up and leaving USA next day of termination is 100% burden of beneficiary. The H1b beneficiary gets the relocation money after lay off, so no point of financial problem too.

The H1b beneficiary should be aware of this; either leaving USA or COS is the only option. One of these two options should be done on time. Ignorance is never an excuse.