Regarding transfer of approved & expired H1B petition

[CoolGuy@s$2lc]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and H1B matter & looking for your valuable & expert help for my case.

I am in to Software Development & I never traveled to US. I am holding an approved H1B petition (NOT stamped) granted to me on July 2009 when I was working for company A in India. petition is valid from 01-10-2009 to 09-22-20012. I'm having copy of I-129 and I-797 Documents. Its expired now.

I left employer "A" (who filed H1B for me) after few months of H1B petition approval. That company did not had any onsite US requirement for next 2 years & bad recession time & I had other personal reasons as well to leave that job.

I am still working in India with employer "B" & want to know
1) Whether my initial petition of H1B (from "A") can still be used for transfer by any other employer C in US?
2) Can it be considered in cap exempt of 6 years validity? or i need to apply under fresh quota?
3) What if I approach employer "A" again to check whether they have any US opportunity? If they are having so then will my initial petition work?

I did some analysis and found that I can still use my petition for 6 years from the date of issue but I am still not sure and need your assistance in this.

It would be really helpful if you can please help me on this.
Looking forward for your response.

Thank you.

Regards,
TJ_1008

[raghvi]

Hi,

I am new to the forum and H1B matter & looking for your valuable & expert help for my case.

I am in to Software Development & I never traveled to US. I am holding an approved H1B petition (NOT stamped) granted to me on July 2009 when I was working for company A in India. petition is valid from 01-10-2009 to 09-22-20012. I'm having copy of I-129 and I-797 Documents. Its expired now.

I left employer "A" (who filed H1B for me) after few months of H1B petition approval. That company did not had any onsite US requirement for next 2 years & bad recession time & I had other personal reasons as well to leave that job.

I am still working in India with employer "B" & want to know
1) Whether my initial petition of H1B (from "A") can still be used for transfer by any other employer C in US?
2) Can it be considered in cap exempt of 6 years validity? or i need to apply under fresh quota?
3) What if I approach employer "A" again to check whether they have any US opportunity? If they are having so then will my initial petition work?

I did some analysis and found that I can still use my petition for 6 years from the date of issue but I am still not sure and need your assistance in this.

It would be really helpful if you can please help me on this.
Looking forward for your response.

Thank you.

Regards,
TJ_1008

1. Yes, any employer can file a cap exempt petition.
2. It would be cap exempt for 6 Years.
3. Yes.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[CoolGuy@s$2lc]

1. Yes, any employer can file a cap exempt petition.
2. It would be cap exempt for 6 Years.
3. Yes.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks for your help.

I don't have visa stamp yet, so IF my previous employer "A"(who granted me H1B petition) is ready to send me in US then
1) do i just need stamping on the basis of initial petition? or
2) new petition needs to be filed under cap exempt & then stamp or
3) will it be a case of transfer?
4) I am still in india, will it impact on any this of above process. please can you guide.

please help me for my queries, thanks in advance.

regards,
TJ_1008

[raghvi]

1, 2&3. Technically there is no "transfer", a new petition and corresponding LCA would need to be filed, and you would attend interview with the new approved petition.
4. No impact from an immigration perspective.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[CoolGuy@s$2lc]

1, 2&3. Technically there is no "transfer", a new petition and corresponding LCA would need to be filed, and you would attend interview with the new approved petition.
4. No impact from an immigration perspective.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks a lot Raghvi.. I have final following queries for my case as of now. I really need your guidance on this.

1) From when the 6 years cap-exempt period start in my case? considering i never been to US, petition approved & expired (valid till:09-22-2012), H1B not stamped.

2) I checked with my previous employer but they don't have any opportunity as of now. I got to know from few of my colleague of my previous org that my previous org cancel the petition when employee leaves them. Not sure whether they just inform USCIS for my resignation or actually revoke petition. In any case, will it impact my transfer to other employer under cap-exempt? will i still be counted as cap-exempt?

3) Can I travel to US under B1 or B2 and get my H1B transfer in US with any employer?

your guide would be really helpful. Thanks

TJ_1008

[raghvi]

1. There is no definite guideline on this. To be safe, one would remain cap exempt 6 Years from last maintained H1 status in US, or if one was already cap counted in last 6 Years.
2. It doesnt matter as long as you have proof of being cap counted in last 6 Years.
3. Technically yes, but the success rates of B1/B2 to H1 conversion are low USCIS doesnt particularly encourage B1/B2 to H1 Change of Status.

This is my opinion not legal advice.