Hi, I’m working on L1 Visa for Employer A.
H1-B without COS was applied by Employer B and was approved on Jan 12 2013.
I have(want) to continue with my current employment with A and cannot shift to B right away (Though B is insisting and speaking about running Payroll).
I heard that Employer B cannot run Payroll unless COS to H1 is applied and approved. Is this true?
What are chances of Employer B still running Payroll without applying for COS while I’m on L1 and working for A?
If your L1-H1 COS is approved then you can not continue on L1 from the start date of your H1. Lets say it is approved on Jan 12 with a start date of Feb 1, then on Feb 1 your status automatically changes(I assume that is what you mean by “applying COS”) from L1 to H1 and you can not work for A unless you go out of country and come back again on L1. B can start running your payroll from the H1 start date(Feb 1 in the above example)
Hi, My H1 was approved “WITHOUT” COS. Could you please respond with this being the case.
if it is without cos then I believe whenever you intend to start working for B you will have to get H1 stamped Or file under COS again using the cap exempt petition(this one which is approved on 12th Jan) correct? If yes then I am not sure if B should run your payroll? AFAIK it would be like he is running the payroll without you joining him which is not correct.
Ankit is correct. Legally, he is not allowed to run the payroll until you move to H-1 status.
Hi Saurabh and Ankit,
I think this approved request was subject to CAP but it was filed WITHOUT COS (Employer has also confirmed that there is no I94 on the documents received from USCIS).
In what all ways can I move to H1 status using this approved request?
Also, I did not get the following part from Ankit’s reply - Could you please elaborate
“file under COS again using the cap exempt petition(this one which is approved on 12th Jan) correct?”
You can only move to H-1 status after you decide to work for an employer. That employer will have to file COS for you in that case. If it’s your old H-1 employer, then they need to file just the COS; if it is a different H-1 employer then they need to file a cap-exempt H-1 petition (aka H-1 transfer) along w/ COS.
Once USCIS approves the petition w/ COS, you will receive the H-1 I-94 and have to start working on H-1 from that approval date.
Thanks for the confirmation Saurabh and Ankit!