Hi All,
I want to briefly explain about my situation and need your suggestion on how to proceed with my case.
I came to USA on H4 visa through my husband's employer and last year i got an offer from an university to work as FTE on H1B Cap Exempt Visa.
Yesterday, my employer(university) has given me 30 days notice to find another job as they dont have enough funds to keep me employed.
Here are some of the clarifications that i need
1) Can i transfer my visa to H1b cap subject employer(Regular Quota) and start working with new employer immediately?
2) Since the H1b quota for current fiscal year is not available, if i file for H1b through an employer coming April, can i continue working till i get approval?
3) What happens if i dont find any job within 30 days? Should i ask my husband's employer to file COS from H1b to h4 immediately?
4) If i file for COS to H4, can i also apply for h1b parallely? Will it have any impact with H1b processing?
It would be of great help if anyone can respond to this query soon.
Thanks in advance.
--Dee
Deepika,
Sorry to hear about your present situation. USCIS considers you to be in status until notified of employment termination in writing so technically you have time (but not much) for your husband’s employer to file for H-4 which is first step. However be careful as Department of Labor does not consider you employed if no pay check is being received. If University notifies USCIS of your termination, you go out of status immediately but this rarely happens as there is no clause that ‘punishes’ an employer for failing to report a layoff. My advice, apply for H-4 change so you do not go out of status. In parallel, try a different department in same university so H-1B does not have to be terminated. In parallel also, try for another cap exempt group (all 501c3 companies such as universities and hospitals that receive public funds are cap exempt) for H-1B transfer. Lastly, try the H-1B cap subject category but there a queue is involved and delays happen. I suggest you move quickly on H-4 change of status and worry about everything else later. Activity on all fronts simultaneously is allowed, many people do this. You can always withdraw petitions that are not relevant later.
All the best
Dr. Sandeep Shankar, Colorado Heights University, Denver, CO 80223, USA. www.chu.edu, sshankar@chu.edu