What are the chances of getting other US Visa, when you have a stamped H1B?

Hi All,

Please request for your clarification for my case.

I have a stamped H1B with Company A. I went through the whole submission process with Company A in 2017, got my approval in Jan 2018 and got it stamped in July 2018. But I have not entered US with that visa yet due to personal reasons and the company A was ok with it. However, now my current company is offering me an internal transfer to US (i believe they will apply for an expat visa not sure if that is what is called). That being said i have the following questions?

  1. Will I even be allowed to apply for another visa with a valid H1B status in hand?
  2. Will my H1B be still valid and how long will it be valid, if i choose to go with the internal transfer option under a different visa and not use my H1B status?

Thanks a lot in advance.

  1. Yes, they can. Having a visa does not stop you from having an other. When you enter US, you will only use one of the visa category to enter US.
  2. Your H1B stamp will have a validity on it, you can use your visa stamp until that date to enter US… In general, just having visa is not just sufficient, your employer with, whom you have H1B has to have a role for you and pay you an fulfil all H1B requirements and keep you in status.

Thanks a lot Kumar for the answers.

A follow-up question to my earlier question. My Visa was stamped in July 2018. The validity on visa is Sep 2020 and suppose I enter US In Sep 2019, does it mean I have only 1 year of valid H1B visa status?