H1B out of status options

[cpl86]

Hi all,

I've got myself in a hairy situation that i'm trying to rectify. I work for company A and a month ago I got a job offer from company B that I accepted. 2 weeks ago I had sent them all the documents and we agreed that June 8th would be a good start date. Knowing this, i gave my termination letter at company A and my last working day here is June 5th. Company B calls me up this week and tells me that USCIS has temporarily suspended premium processing and that the paralegals at company B haven't even filed for the H1 transfer. I called them up and conveyed the urgency and they said they'll do their best, but it doesn't look like they'll be able to send the application to USCIS before June 5th. As of June 6th, I'll be out of status. I would like to know what my options are. I'm trying to get company A to extend my last date but there is no guarantee of it. How serious of an infraction is it to be out of status say for a week. The paralegals at company B assured me that failing to meet the deadline of June 5th, they should have the receipt of application at least by mid next week (June 10 - 11). I do want to apply for GC eventually and I suspect this might cause problems. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[shervin143]

Technically you will be out of status for the duration between your last date with the current employer and the joining date with the new employer. But how seriously will USCIS take this 1 week out of status period, well, no one can predict (In my opinion, teh chances are very less). It all depends on who handles your case. Especially for reasons like this, you are not suppose quit your job until the transfer gets approved. If you are absolutely looking to make sure that you do not have any out of status period, then your only option is to leave the country after your last working day and return back after the petition gets approved and then start working for the new employer.