I am currently in my second year of OPT ( my stem OPT expires in December 2025), and I am working as a software engineer at a Nonprofit university.
Here is my plan for scenarios that might happen, and I need your help to tell me if I am on the right path or completely moving in the wrong direction.
My employer agreed to file an H1 at the end of the stem opt, but I plan to ask my employer (a non-profit) to file a cap-subject visa for me. Everything will be fine if they do and it gets picked. If not, I have a long-standing offer ( with a project ) from a consulting firm who will file for me.
- My question is, either way if lottery doesn't get picked i am planning to go with cap exempt route from my university.
- If I have an H-1B cap-exempt visa and my lottery gets picked any time in the future, the chances of the client waiting till Oct 1(visa start date) can be unpredictable. Is there a way to bypass this by moving to day one CPT or any other visa and starting working immediately with the client? I heard that it is practically impossible to move to cap subject if i have cap exempt visa and my priority is cap subject.
It was a pleasure working with Rajiv's office on an H1 application for our employee. Though there was a considerable amount of paperwork required as a result of the increased diligence from DHS lately, we got good instructions with clear guidelines on what was needed at each step. Anna and Fran answered our questions very promptly and capably. They were also very careful to consult Rajiv on any legal opinions. I know Rajiv handles a lot of cases, but with the processes he has in place and attention his staff gave to this case, we might as well have been his only client. Thanks Rajiv, Anna and Fran.