I am on my STEM OPT, and it is valid till July 2024.
My H1B was picked(March 2022) and approved(August 2022) last year.
However, my H1B was approved under the Consulate processing and received ( I-797 B). So, I asked my employer about it and got to know that I can change to H1 status whenever I intend to or after my stem opt expires.
I am planning to go to India in Oct for stamping. So I asked my employer to change my status to H1B, and they mentioned COS is not needed, I can directly go on STEM OPT and get my H1B visa stamped. It will automatically change the status to H1B.
Your employer is correct.
My husband and I did our GC processing simultaneously with the help of Mr. Khanna's law office. We figured it would be a good idea to process both applications to play it safe in this post modern era of corporate mergers and acquisitions that some times kill the GC paper work half way. We ultimately got our GC's through my husband's application. It was through a regular Labor certification and Consular process in Chennai. The whole process took us a little over 2 years. In addition to Mr. Khanna himself, who was absolutely fantastic, we worked with Suman who was good until we got our labor certification. Diane Lombardo helped me with my case and was excellent.