B-1 In Lieu of H-1 Visa
The H-1 quota cuts down 50% or more applications each year.
The H-1 quota cuts down 50% or more applications each year.
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.
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.
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:”
I would like to thank Mr. Khanna for giving special attention to advice me regarding my queries. I look forward to work with him for all my future requirments.
Hello Rajiv, I recently got layoff from my employer but I was lucky enough to get selected for the H-1B lottery. The bad thing is that they still haven't submitted my H-1B petition yet. I am wondering if I have an offer from a different/new employer, will they be able to file the H-1B petition for me?
Unfortunately, lottery selection cannot be transferred to another employer. If the H-1B is approved and not withdrawn before October 1, it can be transferred.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
I am a student on F-1 and will be graduating by December 2022. Company A is willing to apply for an H-1B for me this year. I am interviewing with other companies, and I am planning to drop company A as soon as I graduate
1. If I am selected in the lottery and haven't done a change of status, can I continue on F-1 OPT with the other company (not Company A), after graduation?
2. Can Company A retract my H-1B if I leave them?
3. Being on F-1 can Company A start my green card if I win the H-1B lottery?
1. If you file it as a consular processing you can continue working on F-1OPT for that company or another company.
2. Absolutely.
3. That depends upon which country you were born in. If you were born in India that's not such a great deal.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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 am a F-1 student graduating in May 2021. An employer "X" wants to e-register me for the H1B lottery and I am hoping for a better offer from employer "Y". Suppose I got selected in the H1B lottery filed by "X". Can I start working for employer "Y"? What are my options to work for employer "Y"?
2. Can employer "Y" file my H1B petition even though I was registered in the lottery by "X"?
3. Can I ask "X" to not file an H1B petition after winning the lottery and use F1-opt as work authorization?
4. I am also applying for F1-OPT. Can I use my F1-opt to work till September for "Y" and then use H1B in October to work for "Y" while it was filed by employer "X"? I believe "X" would send an H1B petition with change of status.
1. As long as you have your OPT you can work for any employer.
2. No.
3. Absolutely you can.
4.Yes, absolutely you can.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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 question to related to H1B revocation and Cap exemption.
I am based in India and have never traveled to the US. Back in 2014, Employer A filed H1B for me. It got picked in the lottery, got approved for 3 years till August 2017. When I went for Visa stamping at Chennai consulate, I was given 221g and the case was sent back to USCIS and it got revoked in August 2017. ( about 3 years later of my H1B Approval)
Now I have an employer B who is ready to sponsor H1B. Am I eligible for cap exempt or should i go through the regular CAP quota? Earlier H1B can be used and transferred to my new employer?
If an H-1B is revoked it gives you no benefit. You are back in quota. The moment it is revoked you have no benefit from that at all and if there is any kind of fraud allegation against you, you cannot come back to the United States at all. That's the permanent bar from entering the U.S with very few exemptions.
Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, 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.
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Discussion Topics:
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: January 07, 2021
Synopsis
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Hi Rajiv ji, This is Harsh. I work for an employer A on STEM OPT. They registered me for the h1b lottery but it didn't get picked up. But I also had another offer from other employer B they also registered me for the h1b lottery and it got picked up and they have filed my h1b case and it's approved now. Can I transfer my h1b to employer A now before October 1 ? Please let me know
If the employer who filed your H1B revokes it before October 1, the current thinking of the USCIS is that you have lost your place in the lottery.
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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.
Published by: The Economic Times - Date: March 03, 2021
We have just received our first H-1 quota receipt notice. That indicates the H-1 lottery is concluded.
Release Date
USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2023.
USCIS has completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants’ online accounts. The status for registrations properly submitted for the FY 2023 H-1B numerical allocations, but that were not selected, will now show:
Discussion Topics, Aug 18, 2022
FAQs: Change of employers after H-1B is approved and before October 1; the number of pay stubs required; revocation of H-1B before October 1 || I-140 was approved and then revoked in 2011. Can I keep my priority date and also apply for I-485? What is the deadline for filing I-485? || Impact of alternate wage survey for H-1B LCA; the success rates of H-1B extensions; AC21 rule when the company is bought by a successor-in-interest
Published by: The Times Of India: August 22, 2022
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
According to Rajiv S Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigration.com, “There may not be a second H-1B lottery this year. The USCIS has electronically issued several ‘non-selection’ notices, which is a step taken only when there will be no more lotteries.”
For more on this news please see the attachment.
Hi Rajiv Sir, I am on H-1B visa. But I was laid off. Due to some personal reasons, I need to go to India for 6 months. Can I apply for a job from India? And will the visa still be valid for obtaining work in the US?
You can apply for a job from anywhere. If you are offered a position, you can start working remotely while the new employer applies for your H-1B transfer.
My spouse is on H4 EAD, and I'm on H1B. Can she start an LLC and apply for a concurrent H1B for me so I can do two jobs? Please let me know if this is legally possible. Any dangers associated with it?
Sure why not as long as you are truthful with the government. Concurrent H-1Bs do not require Lottery again.
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...