Multiple H1B Petitions for 2016

Hi,My employer is one of the big MNCs(TCS/Infosys/Wipro/Cognizant) in India and almost absolutely will be filing for my H1B in April-2016.My visa was supposed to be filed last year but my employer did not apply for it and I was left disappointed.To avoid the disappointment and to be on the safer side;I will be applying for my H1B visa through a consultancy firm based out of Hyderabad which is collecting some money as a surety from me.I haven’t informed any of my employers that I have more than one petition being filedMy questions:(1)Is an Notification of intent to deny(NOID) issued post or pre lottery?If only one of the petition is approved will there still be a NOID ?What are the chances for a Notify of Intent to Deny to be issued for my petitions if both are selected in the lottery?(Both are completely unrelated employers filing for the same position;one an MNC other a Visa consultancy)(2)Will NOID be issued for both my petitions in case it is issued?Does my situation come under the “virtually identical location and job descriptions” scenario, which is apparently a potential reason for denial? What “key details”, if shared across the petitions, are potential causes for denial? Both offers are for similar roles in different places, but the companies themselves are completely unrelated. However, what concerns me here is the way the article is phrased: “two or more potentially related companies”, signalling that even the hint of a connection will lead to a denial with significant probability.And as both my employers do not know about my other petition;am afraid if an NOID is issued;I might not be considered for issuing any evidence for my petition and it would be nullified. SO would the NOID be issued to me or my employer?What would happen is such a scenario?(3)In case an NOID is issued for one of the petitions and my employer doesn’t respond;will both my petitions be cancelled or only the one in which NOID is issued for?(4)In case both my petitions are denied;Will my H1B Visa chances be hampered for the next year if an employer decides to file for me(worst case scenario)(5)Going through a Visa consultancy might not be ethical;but is it legal?I want to be sure of this.How can I ensure my filing through the visa consultancy is as legal as possible?

Thanks in advance

  1. NOID on one petition will not impact the outcome of the other petition

  2. Multiple filings are prohibited only if filed by same employer. Your’s would be 2 different unrelated employers.

  3. Same as (1)

  4. No impact

  5. Paying for H-1B fees is illegal, which is what your consultancy is doing by asking for surety money. Other than that, it is risky (in terms of chances of approval) but certainly legal.

Saurabh,

I think you have missed the point and unknowingly encouraging people to multi-apply and end up in risks.
Though 2 employers can legally apply for the same employee, if there is any slightest potential of the employers being related OR if the position being applied for is similar, that will lead to NOID/revoke. There are many cases seen at one of the attorney’s firm last 2 years, where though the employers are really not related, they have been revoked due to multi-app.

Request you to kindly not mis-encourage people for multi-apps. Please consult an experienced well known attorney and you will know.

I am not misleading or encouraging anyone. I am just stating what the law is.

May I suggest reading this article by an immigration law firm: How to Increase the H-1B Cap Lottery Chance of Success? - Capitol Immigration Law Group PLLC

Specifically point #4:

Job Offers with Multiple Employers
USCIS specifically prohibits multiple H-1B cap filings by the same employer on behalf of the same worker. But a qualified H-1B candidate can have bona fide job offers by more than one employer and can have multiple (different) employers seek to obtain cap H-1B approval on their behalf. Having a bona fide sponsorship by more than one employer also increases the chances of success under the H-1B cap lottery.