I was selected in H1B 2015 Lottery and my petition was approved and I also got stamped in Feb 2016.Later my sponsor got in to some legal trouble and the consulate Revoked my Visa and logged my Status in Admin Processing.
Now couple of months back I was interviewed by US Based Product development firm and few days back after consulting with their attorney,they decided to File Cap-Exempt H1 for me and I was happy to know that and started process with them like Signing employment form and submitting docs for Background verification.
Today after almost 5 Months I got OF-194 Refusal Worksheet and Now My nightmares are haunting me back.I am planning to share this information with my current sponsor and I am not sure what exactly would this mean to them and If not sure if they can refuse to sponsor me any longer.One thing I know that this Refusal letter is specific to revoking my petition but will it impact my chances of getting freshly filed by my current sponsor under cap-exempt category?.
I did no wrong,always abide by Immigration laws and no idea why I am being tested so much:(.I am a qualified Post Graduate having 11 Years Experience working for Database Software major for 5+ years.Just wanted to work on Big Data specific projects in US to gain some good hands on experience.
Please guide and help me here with your experience.
You should let your new employer know about this. Their attorney would know the best course of action.
Also, when the new petition is applied, see if it can be applied in PP. Hopefully USCIS would treat this petition before working on the reconsideration/revocation of the old petition.
Hi Saurabh;
I shared all details with my new sponsor and their attorney and the attorney is suggesting that they have to wait for USCIS to deny or revoke the petition since 2 petitions cannot go simultaneously.They told me that since Consulate has sent the OF-194 Refusal to USCIS in April so its already 4 Months and that your status should update on USCIS case tracker anytime from now.Once that happens we will file your papers.Here I am not getting their explanation that “2 petitions cannot go simultaneously”-This what actually happens when a candidate seeks H1 transfer right?.Current employer is holding a petition while the new employer files a petition for transfer-Right?.I am not able to understand their reasoning here and If you can guide me on this.
I think what they are saying is that USCIS cannot use the old petition as reference for cap-exempt purposes when they are also in the middle of deciding whether to revoke it or not.
I don’t fully agree to it, but your attorney has the final say here as they are the legal experts. See if they will be willing to file for it b/c worst case scenario, they would issue RFE against their petition saying that old petition is still being worked upon. But the upside is that they may approve it w/o bothering what’s happening w/ the old petition.
Hi Saurabh,
I am also in same situation and got OF-194 refusal on Feb 23rd 2017. Please update me whats the status of your case and what you have done. Please advice me if we can do anything in this situation.
Thanks,
Divya.
Hi Rajat,
I am also facing the same issue. My passport is STAMPED and after that I received OF-194 refusal mail on Sep 2017 when I was about to fly.
Please let me know if any information about how to proceed . and in worksheet it is written as Case will be auto cancelled after an year if no action is taken. But my consultant is saying they can’t do anything till they receive email from consulate