H1B transfer before change of status (Oct 1st, 2013)

surendra232

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surendra232 Member

surendra232

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Hello,

I currently have H1B approved petition (I129) for FY2014 from an employer A. My OPT is valid until February, 2014. If I procure a better offer form another employer B, can I have my current approved petition be transferred to the new employer B and start working for employer B before the change of status date i.e., October 1st, 2013?

I have been hearing mixed feedback on this particular question. Some say that I need to wait until October 1st, 2013 to start working for the new employer B, though I can get the transfer approved. But, by doing so I might risk of being out of status if my current employer A comes to know about this transfer.

I was wondering to get a right answer from the immigration experts on the forum to understand if I need to actually wait until October 1st, 2013 to start working for the new employer B or can I start working along with the transfer approved during cap-gap ASAP?

I appreciate an expert advice!

Thanks,

Surendra

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surendra232 Member

surendra232

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Thanks Rahul. However, after a bit of research I found the following on some website. Now, back to the original question. Looks like one need to wait until October 1st, 2013 to actually start working for a new employer i.e., after change of status is complete. Is anyone out there who faced this situation and/or is there a work-around for this issue?

Working on OPT? Want to change job after H1B Approval?

Can I change employer with approved H1B petition and start working with new employer before Oct?

Last year, I came across my friends situation who was working on OPT wherein his H1B got approved in May and then got a new offer from new employer. Now his question was if he can file for H1B transfer and at the same time can he start working (on OPT) with new employer before Oct.

After a lot of research, we came to know that his new employer can file for H1B transfer but he cannot join new employer (on OPT) before Oct even if H1B transfer gets approved. Now even if his new employer agrees for him to start working on Oct 1st, he should still be employed with this current employer till Oct 1st to stay in status. While doing this, if his current employer comes to know about this situation, the current employer might revoke/withdraw his petition and then he will be out of status and will land nowhere but in trouble.

But fortunately his current employer even after knowing that he will be moving to a new job, allowed him to work till Oct 1st and also offered him to come back again if he wish. Not all employers do that.

So basically there is no other ideal way apart from convincing your new employer for you to join after Oct 1st and keeping in mind that your current employer doesn’t withdraw your approved petition before your transfer gets approved.

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