What to do about OPT and an H1b?
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What to do about OPT and an H1b?
I’m on OPT right now and it expires this June. My employer will file for my H1b this April. However, I’m also interviewing at another firm and I might get an offer mid-April. Assuming the H1b quota is full in the first week of that month, would I be able to join the new company at end of the month and transfer the pending application from my old employer because at that point the new employer won’t be able to get another H1b petittion filed?
Asked on February 21, 2014 under Immigration Law, Colorado
Answers:
SB, Member, California / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 10 years ago | Contributor
Yes, the second employer would be able to file a new petition on your behalf if the first employer's H-1B visa petition on your behalf has been filed with USCIS on April 1 and you have a receipt number. However, you would not be able to join any of the employers after your OPT expires in June unless you either extend your OPT, if you are eligible, or plan to leave the US once the grace period is over and then reenter the US once the H-1B visa petition is approved and you get the H-1B visa at the US Embassy/Consulate abroad, in order to start work for the petitioning employer on October 1, 2014.
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