Can company A withdraw/revoke approved H1B and travelled if it's still valid

USA H1B Visa
1

Hi,

Have a 3 yr valid H1b on company A’s name valid till Sept’ 2018. I travelled on that visa in 2015 and worked with A for 1 month, I found B in meanwhile who filed transfer petition and I started working with B.

After 3 months, B withdrew transfer petition and my employment was also withdrawn and they sent me back home. Now, another company C has filed for cap exempt petition as they are willing to hire me ?? [A and C have good relations]

Question is,

  1. If I refuse to join C after petition approval, does A has power in any capacity to withdraw/revoke my valid H1B visa (3 yr visa stamp is on A’s name) to stop me from applying anywhere else?

  2. If yes, what do I need to do if another new employer D is willing to hire me and file for a cap exempt petition? Do I again have to go for stamping on D’s name?

  3. Technically, according to American law, are all terms and conditions of an agreement considered null and void once employment and transfer petition both are withdrawn by the employer??

Thanks

2

They can withdraw their petition but it won’t stop you from moving to another employer on H1 in future. To cancel the visa stamp in passport, they would need to take physical custody of your passport. No new visa stamping is required as long as the old stamp is not marked as canceled in passport and is still unexpired.

3

I see. So, does this mean that I can travel on A’s 3yrs valid visa stamp to work for new employer even after A withdraw their approved petition (I have travelled and worked on this stamp)??
If they withdraw it before I leave my country to work with new US employer, can I still travel to US with new petition and approval docs & with this old stamp and hand over my passport to my new company or do I need to get it stamped from home country itself on new employer’s name before leaving?
What’s physical custody and its purpose.

Thanks

4

Some companies may want to get that visa stamp canceled as part of the exit process, while others are happy just w/ petition withdrawal. You will have to figure out this for your employer.

A person can travel on B’s approved petition and A’s approval stamp as long as the visa stamp is still valid, not expired and not canceled.

5

That’s very well explained! Thank you, Saurabh.
I just had a couple of more things to ask:

  1. if A requests my passport for physical custody in order to get my 3 yr. visa stamp cancelled as its in their name, can I still refuse as I do not feel safe to hand over my passport to the company I’m no longer interested in working with? Any implications??

  2. When B applies for cap exempt and its approved, will the visa be for just 1 yr or 3 yrs. (as previously I was given a 3 yr visa on A’s name). Any idea?

Thanks so much

6

  1. You can refuse. I don’t know how your company would react to it - not issue the experience letter etc. Again, it all depends upon your employer. If you know someone who has done this in the past, check w/ them.

  2. B will have option to request their own term of visa. They can request for 1-3 years and USCIS will issue it for a tenure based upon review of submitted documents/information.