H-1B to H4 (applying for EAD) - Cap Exempt after October 1st?

Hi!

My H1-B got approved in Sept 2019, and I want to leave my job and switch to H4-EAD. I want to know:
(1) What would happen if I quit my job before Oct 1st. I want to have the option of switching back to H-1B from H-4 EAD in the future if need be, and want to know if I should stay in my current job to activate my H-1B (i.e. till Oct 1st) or if I can leave sooner and still re-use my H-1B in the future and be cap exempt?
(2) If I need to activate my H1-B, what is the shortest period for which I have to stay in my current job? Would one or two days be enough?

Thanks in advance!

  1. It is recommended to stay and get H1B activated. To be safe, you can work for few days or a month and get a pay stub as well on H1B.
  2. The longer the better, ideally one to three pay stubs either biweekly or monthly.

In general, it is a grey area, there are many got cap exempt without questions, there are also some where they start to ask, the candidate never had H1B status, so not cap exempt…So, the recommendation is to be safe and get it activated.