H1 with COS approved, but couldn't move the job to H1b.

[charls]

Hi,

Could you please someone help me with my unfortunate case with H1 status.

I was on L1b Visa(expired, but i94 valid till Nov'14) working for Company A. On Apr'13, my H1 with COS was filed for a company B and it was approved effective from Oct 1st 2013. I was not aware of the fact that the employer (B) filed the h1 with COS. Due to other commitments, I couldn't move on to the company B and have to work for Company A. Later I realized that this is a kind of illegal to work under L1 when I'm on H1B status. But the payroll was running for the company L1. To avoid any further complications, I left US on Jan'14.

Now I wanted to know if I can reprocess the approved H1 by a different employer with Cap exempt. Will there any impact due to the above mistake when consulate reviews the petition ?

[raghvi]

Hi,

Could you please someone help me with my unfortunate case with H1 status.

I was on L1b Visa(expired, but i94 valid till Nov'14) working for Company A. On Apr'13, my H1 with COS was filed for a company B and it was approved effective from Oct 1st 2013. I was not aware of the fact that the employer (B) filed the h1 with COS. Due to other commitments, I couldn't move on to the company B and have to work for Company A. Later I realized that this is a kind of illegal to work under L1 when I'm on H1B status. But the payroll was running for the company L1. To avoid any further complications, I left US on Jan'14.

Now I wanted to know if I can reprocess the approved H1 by a different employer with Cap exempt. Will there any impact due to the above mistake when consulate reviews the petition ?

COS are not supposed to be treated lightly and casually. Good thing is that you left US. Apply as usual, if they decide to do additional admin processing, they will eventually find out and may even revoke the H1.

This is my opinion not legal advice.