Need info Regarding H1B Visa Transfer

I got my H1B visa(I797 and Passport stamped) this year through Employer A. I have not travelled to US on this H1B yet. Now the project for which I was hired by Employer A is on Hold and thus no surety of travel date to US. In meantime, Company B contacted me and are ready to offer a job. Could you please tell me the whether all below are possible options and is there any risk/legal issue with any of the options.

  1. Company B will offer me Job and will file a new petition(Under premium) while I am in India. This will take 2-3 weeks. on receipt of approval notice, I can travel to US on current visa and petition and directly start working for new Employer B.

  2. I can travel to US on Company A’s I 797 and H1B visa. On arrival in US company B will file a petition. I can straight away start working for B based on new petition filing receipt instead of waiting for petition approval.

  3. Company B files a petition while I am in India. After approval, I go for re stamping of passport for new petition. After stamping my visa for company B, I travel to US.

Also, could you please suggest on how many parallel petitions can be there. Ia new petition is approved then would my previous petition will be cancelled?

  1. This is a safe and legal option. You can travel on A’s visa stamp and B’s approved petition.

  2. This is not a legal option. You should use A’s petition only if A supports your employment in US w/ them.

  3. This is a safe and legal option just like (1).

Thanks for clarification. I have few more queries -

  1. So is it necessary to get Company B’s petition approval copy. Only petition reciept would not work?

  2. Also want to know if there is any limitation on number of approved petitions at time that i can have?

  3. Is there any sequence that need to be followed for petition application. Eg. My first petition is approved for Company A. Now Company B wants to file petition and will need petition approval of A. After this if Company C wants to file a petition for me then it would require petition approval of Company B or any of the petitions(A & B) can be used for filling?

  1. If this is related to entry to US, then its better to have copy of the approval notice. At times, they don’t ask for 797 copy at PoE, but its better to have it.

  2. You can have as many approved petitions as there can be. However, you can use only 1 to enter US and that employer will be considered as your employer in US.

  3. C can use A or B’s petition for cap-exempt purpose. The old petition is needed to show that you have already made through the cap and don’t need to go through lottery/cap again. If you have are in US or have been in US on H-1, then most recent payslips from that employer will also be needed.