H-1B Transfer before Oct 1st has been discussed over and over again… but now I heard from a couple of attorneys of prospective employers that a new regulation has been effected by USCIS in May 2014.
An immigration attorney says:
“If your current employer (company-A) revokes their cap-subject H-1B petition before October 1st, the USCIS can at their discretion revoke company-B’s H-1B (transfer) petition since it would then be subject to the H-1B cap. Since there are no available H-1B visas for this year, company-B would not be eligible to sponsor a cap-subject H-1B for this fiscal year. Whether the USCIS will revoke company-B’s H-1B petition if your current employer revokes their H-1B petition is unknown as it is at the discretion of the USCIS.”
Another one from a different immigration law firm quotes:
"In a May 21, 2014 Teleconference between the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and USCIS, the agency addresses the issue of withdrawal:
If the H-1B is revoked before the beneficiary can be considered in H-1B status – i.e. before October 1 of the given year, or if they consular process, prior to the beneficiary using the petition to apply for a visa/admission, then they would not be considered counted under the cap."
… meaning:
"If Company A’s approved petition is withdrawn before the new petition with Company B is approved, then the individual would no longer be considered “counted” under the cap.
The new petition would be denied for filing outside of the H-1B cap window."
…
This confusion still prevails, as there’s no evidence or documentation pertaining to this in the USCIS website.
Maybe a quick call to USCIS may help - not sure, though.
Is anyone aware of this ‘new’ rule/regulation? And, if yes, then it would be good have the evidence for the same.
Thanks in advance!