I had applied for H-1B extension on May 15, 2015 with I-94 card expiring on Aug 29,2015. Due to some emergency, I traveled to India in June and returned in July with new I-94 card expiring on Nov 2015. Now, it's been 6 months that I applied for extension, no response from USCIS. Will there be any problem since I filed my H-1B extension with old I-94. Do we need to amend my case with new I-94 card?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
Below are questions I have on the H-1B Amendment and H-1B transfer being filed almost at the same time with little gap with USCIS for the same person. The H-1B Amendment is in light of the new H-1B regulation that has been mandated by USCIS when there is a significant change in the Job Location of the beneficiary from the address mentioned in the initial Petition from the employer which was approved initially.<p>
1. Does the USCIS Last action rule apply in case of the below 2 being applied almost at the same time for the same beneficiary?<br>
a) H-1B Amendment with Current Employer<br>
b) H-1B Transfer to New employer while H1B Amendment is pending with Current Employer.<br>
2. If the answer for the above is 'Yes', then incase the H-1B Amendment Approval comes after the H-1B Transfer would the H-1B transfer to the new employer that was approved earlier be automatically nullified?<br>
3. If the answer for #2 above is 'Yes' Is there any way to request USCIS to consider the H-1B Transfer approval to new employer as the primary incase that get approved earlier and avoid the H-1B amendment to dictate the latest H-1B for a given employer? (I believe we can request USCIS to withdraw/cancel the Amendment but is this something that the new employer/employee can do or only the existing employer who was filed for H-1B amendment has the authority to request any cancellation/withdrawal of the H-1B amendment?)<br>
4. Also does the current suspension of H-1B premium processing apply even for the H-1B transfers (with a new extension for 3 Years) or is it only for new H-1B extensions of Petitions from the current employer?
See clip from Attorney Rajiv S. Khanna's conference call video that addresses this question.
The H-1 quota cuts down 50% or more applications each year.
I went to the US in May 2014 on H1-B working for Employer A. In Feb 2016, I moved to work for Employer B (small US based company, on other offices) with H1-B transfer receipt.
The new job was remote work, so I started working from home for Employer B. I received RFE in April 2016 and I went to India the same month. While I was in India, the transfer got approved in June 2016 and I came back to the US with the approval notice as proof. My visa was getting expired in Sep 2016, so extension was filed with Employer B. The extension also got approved after RFE and extended till Sep 2019. <br>
Current Situation:<br>
Now, I came to India in Jan 2017 for my marriage. I went for visa stamping in Delhi with my wife (for H4) in Feb 2017. The visa officer asked me about my Role, client, and other common questions which I answered correctly. VO then collected my documents (I-129, client letter etc) and handed me 221(g) letter saying that he needs some time to review the documents. We left the embassy and the wait started.
In March 2017, I received an email from embassy asking for the latest LCA which I promptly provided.
After that there was no response for a few months, and I started working from India in US hours. Since my employer is a small company, they did not hire any attorney and did the processing themselves. They also did not seem to put any effort to expedite or help the process.
In July 2017 (after 5 months), I received a call to collect the passport. On collecting the passport, the stamping was not done and I received a letter stating that my stamping is being refused and visa is sent to consulate for revocation.
This came as a shock. I notified my employer, they were disappointed and did not know what can be done about this case. When I enquired, they said they don't want to spend more resources on this case and are fine with me continue working from India (reduced salary).
<br>1. Is it possible to have the case reconsidered and to know the exact reason for refusal? If yes, how would I go about it without the support of my employer?<br>
2. If this is only for stamping, how long will my extended visa be valid? Can I try the stamping again with this employer or find a new employer from India and use the same visa with them?<br>
3. What happens to my assets (personal stuff, bank accounts, etc) in US?<br>
4. If I can legally work for the same employer, how does it affect my taxes? Do I now pay taxes in India and in US both? Since when I can be considered liable to pay tax in India (when I came to India or stamping refusal date etc)?
Video Transcript
1. Not until a notice of intent to revoke is sent.
2. This case is going back to USCIS.
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am staying here in the US from last 4 years 10 months and have I-140 approved (Received approval Jun '17). To fulfill personal commitments, I am going back to India in Dec '17 for some time however my H1B extension is still in progress (Filed in Aug '17). I am not sure whether the result will be out before my travel.
My question is -<br>
1. If I change the employer in India, is there any way I can come back? What all options I will have?<br>
2. Can my new employer eligible to transfer my H1B from India in case current extension gets approved or RFE or Denial?
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Effect of moving abroad while still on H-1B visa
Video Transcript
1. Yes, I think you can keep that H-1B alive as long as that job is there.
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
1. I have joined a company based on H1b transfer receipt and have got RFE of LCA wage level 1. If, by any chance, the petition gets denied then can the same employer file for new h1b transfer with LCA wage level 2, right after the denial? <br>
2. Is it advisable to find another employer and start a new h1b transfer processing while the current one is still under RFE received/response status?
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Denial of H-1B on Level 1 wage issue
Video Transcript
1. Now if somebody's H-1 gets denied for level 1 job the same employer can file for level 2. But there should be a good reason or explanation if the government asks questions like: why are we going to level 2, why did we not go with level 2 the first time around.
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am currently on F1 in OPT status and working for Employer A, my Employer A filed for H1b this year. and I am currently waiting for my H1b approval Approval. Can my Employer start my green card process when I am in F1 status?
Watch Video on this FAQ: Can a green card be started on F-1 status?
Video Transcript
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I have an H-1B visa stamped from employer A and the employer B has filed my H-1B (Transfer visa) based on the H-1B petition visa from employer A. Now, my H-1B visa filed by employer B is on RFE and my employer A wants to file the GC based on my previously approved i-140 from employer C. Below are my questions: <br>
1. Can I reject the offer from employer B and still continue to work with employer A on current Visa if my H-1B from employer B is approved?<br>
2. Can I reject the offer from employer B and still continue to work with employer A on current Visa if my H-1B from employer B is denied?<br>
3. In case my visa from employer B is rejected do I need to leave the country and come on the stamped visa which I have now?<br>
4. Can I ask employer A to file my Green Card even if my H-1B from employer B is rejected or approved without any issues or do I need to provide any visa documentation to employer A on my petition from employer B being approved or rejected?
Can I immediately file the Green Card with employer B (after joining the employer B office) if my visa from employer B is approved?
Watch the Video on this FAQ: Can I join my old employer if the H-1B transfer is denied?
Video Transcript:
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Prompt and professional team. Always answered all queries satisfactorily.
Great work guys! Keep it up!
Situation:
Resigned company A already and Got offer from employer B and applied H1B transfer(premium processing) but received RFE. But I have another offer from Employer C as well who is yet to file my h1b transfer
Question:<br>
1. If RFE is denied for employer B Can i join employer C with the receipt notice as Employer C has started H1B transfer by that time ?<br>
2. How long one can stay in US without job/payroll having H1B ?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Discussion Topics, Dec 3, 2020
FAQs:
H-1 Visa and Spouses H-4 EAD Expires at the Same Time - What are the extension options?
1) How long does I-485 EAD approval take?
2) Once spouse gets I-485 EAD , Is it ok if she starts working on I-485 EAD ? Does that impact my H1B status ?
3) On January 2021 my company is ready to file my H1 extension and her H4 and H4 EAD , is that ok to apply if our I-485 is pending ? What will happen to her I-765 (C) (9) since we are applying H4 EAD too.
4) If she get H4 EAD approval then she will have two EADs , Which one to use and how ? Is it ok to have two EADS ?
5) My wife's company is also ready to apply her H1B (as she was already on H1B till 2016 and she was only on H1B for 2.5 year), If her company applies her H1B , do we have to worry about anything related to Pending I-485 application?
Other Topics :
Trump's Immigration Order on Green Card Application for Parents || Furlough and Applying for Unemployment Benefits || Will a Misdemeanor Conduct Obstruct the Application for a Tourist Visa for my Brother? || US Green Card Holder to be Married to a Canadian PR - Repercussions || EB-2 Green Card Backlog and Family Based Green Card Spillover Due to the Immigration Executive Order || Transfer of H-1B to a New Employer and Keep the Green Card Going || Implications of H-1B Visa Salary Reduction when Changing Jobs in the Future || Occupation Column of Form G-325A Regarding I-485 || EB-2 to EB-3 Downgrading and 180 Day Requirement || H-1B Extension and Impact on Green card Processing when Dates are current || I-485 interviews in the Year 2021, Expedite of a Pending L-1 based AO and Mandamus Petition
I am currently working for a Non-profit org on a cap-exempt H-1B. and my company initiated my GC processing. Below are the few questions:<br>
1. Is the GC processing any different thru a non-profit from a for-profit organization? meaning, is it any advantageous to process my GC thru a non-profit?<br>
2. Can my I-140 from a non-profit be transferred to a for-profit org, if I was able to move to a for-profit org?<br>
3. What are the possible ways that I could move to work for a for -profit organizations? From your previous calls and thru my research I found out below few ways that I could to that. Please give your inputs<br>
a. Finding a profit employer to file my cap-subject H1 (Can I start working for my new employer as soon as my H1b is picked in the lottery or approved, instead of waiting till Oct 1st?)<br>
b. If a new employer sponsor my cap-subject H1 and if I dont move to the new employer, will my current cap-exempt H1 be still active and should I have to go under the cap next time I file a Cap-subject H1<br>
c.applying for concurrent H1b<br>
d. Moving on to H4EAD and filing a H1b next April<br>
e.Joining a Masters CPT college and filing a Cap-subject H-1B next year
Video Transcript
1. The answer is No. There is no advantage in going through for-profit or non-profit that's just irrelevant.
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
FAQs: I-485 Pending Using EAD Consequences || H-4 EAD issues || FAQ: H-1B no notification of termination, 60 days grace period, etc. || Deadline to join new employer after H-1B transfer is approved ||
OTHER: DV lottery || Withdraw BALCA appeal, H-1B extension || H-4 EAD Starting business || Name error on I-140 || Green Card holding parents unable to travel || Traveling with existing L-2 visa || H-1B extension based upon pending green card || EB-1C priority date prediction || F-1 OPT withdrawing H-1B
After H-1B transfer is approved with the new employer, how long do I have to decide if I can to join the new employer? Can I join after 90 days of H-1B transfer approval? Is there a deadline?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I came to US on H-4, so I have only H-4 stamping in my passport. Got my H1b picked up in lottery two years back, and did COS to h1, and have approved i797A with I-94 and working with my current employer.
Got an offer from another company, and they filed my H1b transfer, and got the i-797A approval with I-94.
So my question here is, can I join the new company using the H1b transfer approval, even though I don’t have H1b stamp at all in my passport? Will this be a valid H1b transfer?, or should I go back to India to get my H1b stamping to join the new employer?
Watch the Video on this FAQ: H-1B portability without a visa stamp
Video Transcript
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am working as a consultant for big client. My employer applied for my H1b extension and received an RFE, they have recently replied for my RFE and now waiting for the decision. Now my client offered me job and ready for transfer my H-1. My questions is : is it possible to transfer H-1 during RFE?
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Substantial transcription:
7th July 2012 at 05:16 PM
9.59 Minutes
What do we do when our visa gets denied under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act? Basically, this means that if the consulate doesn’t believe you are going to come back, they deny the visa, saying that you have an immigrant intent which you have not been able to rebut. So the idea is whenever somebody goes for a visa stamping, they actually are presumed to have immigrant intent unless they prove otherwise. Of all the visas A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H all the way to V, some visas are immune to this problem.
What are the visas that are immune?
H-1 as well as H-4, L-1 as well as L-2, and O-1 and O-1 derivative visas are immune by law almost. H and L are clearly immune by law and O by implication. With these visas, if you have a green card going, the consulate is not going to deny your visa for that reason.
On the other hand, there are notorious visas that are very susceptible to this problem:
B-1, B-2, F-1 as well as F-2 (which are for students), and J-1 as well as J-2 are susceptible. A lot of physicians on J-1’s have had a visa denial on 214(b).
TN visa holders strictly not going for visa stamping but can be stopped at the border if their green card has been filed. So bear in mind that when TN holders apply for a green card, they should be careful about this particular factor.
The biggest problem with 214(b) is it is extremely difficult to fight it. I have recently taken a case in which an F visa was denied on 214(b), and I think we have a fighting chance because the visa applicant has come to the U.S. many times and she has left within her time permitted. So she’s been a frequent traveler on a B visa. Her F visa denial is extremely unjustified, in my opinion.
Let me just very quickly go through the visa alphabets.
A visa (diplomats) will have no problem. They have no issues of a green card being denied.
B visa will have a problem.
C, D, and E visas will usually not have a problem.
The only thing you have to establish for E-3, especially for Australians (E-3 is kind of equivalent of H-1), is that you do have an intention to come back but not to the same degree. In other words, if you have a home in Australia, the degree of proof is not very high so it is very easy to meet that degree of proof.
G visa is ok.
H visa is ok.
By the way, H-2B visas can have a major problem with immigrant intent. These are people who are coming to U.S. for to perform skilled labor.
I, which is international journalists/media representatives, may or may not be ok.
J visa will definitely be a problem.
K -1 and K-3 are no problem because they are fiancés or spouses of U.S. citizens and are obviously meant to go into green card.
L visa is no problem.
M, which is folks who are doing vocational training, can have this problem.
P visa (performers, athletes, etc.) can have a problem but usually won’t.
Q visa (exchange visitors) can have a problem.
R visa usually won’t.
S, T, and U visas won’t usually have a problem because they are done within the USA and are usually either victims of crime or people who are assisting in criminal investigations.
So what do you do if you get a 214(b) denial?
Normally there isn’t much we can do but, if you have been to USA before or else there is something unique in your case, we can ask the consulate to reconsider and if they are not willing and able, then we can ask the visa office in Washington, D.C. to intervene. You can also contact your family or employer in the U.S. to contact the local Congressmen to seek their intervention. This typically is not helpful but you can try. If anybody from the bar or a lawyer tells you he or she can fix it, be mindful because they may not be able to. Especially be careful when you talk with lawyers in your own country. This makes me very nervous because we have had some cases where local lawyers in other countries did some strange stuff. They had some hook ups with consulates and ultimately got caught.
The biggest problem is with fraud or misrepresentation. If you make a misrepresentation in attempting to get any immigration benefit, you can be barred from entering USA forever.
Going back to 214(b) denials, you can ask the consulate to reconsider. Reapply if you have a case that begs for a special consideration, like you’ve been to the U.S. many times. For example, one of my friends asked me that, if his girlfriend is refused a B visa, is it okay to bring the lady in on a K-1 (fiancé visa)? My take is do not use the fiancé visa in lieu of B-1 or B-2 visa, because if you do not have the intention to get married, the government can consider it to be fraud. So make sure you want to get married within 90 days after they enter the U.S.
One more point -- there is a legal fiction created in U.S. immigration law about ties to your home country that says you can overcome 214(b) denial if you have ties to your home country. That in my mind is a legal fiction. To demonstrate ties is very difficult. Of course, if you have family in your home country, that’s a good example of ties but to say you have property, but property can be sold, so I don’t think that’s really ties. Having business is also not really a tie as a business can be sold. Hence demonstrating ties to your home country is usually a difficult thing to do.
This issue has come up several times recently. Feel free to ask me specific questions on the website, in a forum, or on a community conference call.
I would like to thank Mr.Rajiv and his team (especially Anna Baker and Fran Fischer) for getting my H1B transfer with extension. It may sound simple but both my I-94 and Visa were expired for more than 240 days and my extension with the previous employer was pending with USCIS for almost 9 months. We were really impressed with the way the case was prepared and presented to the USCIS. Anna Baker and Fran Fisher was very supportive during the entire process and answering even the simplest of questions promptly. I was surprised one evening when Anna called me at 7:30 PM to discuss about the case. That shows the level of professionalism by LORK's team. I would recommend LORK for all immigration needs.
Navin
Immigration.Com has received the following question, which I think is important enough to be answered in a format accessible to all the people abroad interested in starting a business in the USA.
The Question
I am planning to start an IT company in USA which is registered in India. Currently I am planning to travel on B1/B2 visa for my company set up. Can I transfer my visa status from B1/B2 to L1 if required within USA? What are the possible chances of success? Kindly you please suggest me the best way.
There are several issues that should be examined before you can make an informed decision.
1. B visa or ESTA does not allow you to “work:”
Rajiv was a pleasure to speak with. His advice was genuine and he was very proactive. It was refreshing to speak with a lawyer who is a true professional and very considerate about his client's situation. Thank you for your help...
Rajiv, Anna and the team was great with their help regarding my H1B transfer, particularly with their thouroughness in responding to an RFE.
Thank you all again!
-Sonali.
My name is Rahul Patil. I am currently working at Restek Corporation in Bellefonte, PA as a Research Chemist. My company had hired your law firm to transfer my H1 visa from Penn State University to them. My H1 was transferred without any problems. I was very satisfied the service I received from the staff of your law firm. My company was also happy with the services and would hire your firm for any future immigration work.