H1B approved - But when can or do I have to start?

[emJ4y]

Hey there,

I'm new to this community an looking for help or guidance regarding my H1B petition.

A few weeks ago I have been notified by the US company that has filed the petition for me, that it has been approved by USCIS (woohooooo!!!! ). On the I-797B form the following validity dates have been confirmed: 10/01/2015 to 09/02/2018.
I have read in forums and the USCIS FAQ if there is a definition on when I have to enter the US and start my new job at the latest. Some comments I was reading were saying that the job has to be started at October 1st, some were saying you can start whenever you like, others were saying that the petitioner has to file a change notice form to USCIS if the worker is starting later than October 1st. Finally I was asking the attorney and the answer was that I can start whenever I want in this time frame that has been confirmed as validity dates.

I'm a bit worried now that things go wrong and I might screw up my H1B because I'm not following rules or not starting at the desired date. Due to my old job I can only start February 1st 2016 the earliest.

Can someone give me some guidance if there is any action required if start later than October 1st 2015?

Many thanks!

[shervin143]

Are you currently in U.S under a different status or you currently outside U.S? You have mentioned that your H1B approval notice is I-797B (approval without a new I-94 attached), which means your H1B is approved for consular process. By that I am guessing that you are currently outside U.S. If you are outside U.S, then you will need to first get the H1B visa stamped. You can enter U.S anytime after September 21st. You can start working only from Oct 1st. If you enter U.S after Oct 1st in H1B status, then you should be working from day 1 to maintain the H1B status.

[kabkaba]

You can start at any time during the 3 years as long as the job still exists (without any major changes to job duties or location) and the employer still wants you to join them. If there are major changes to job duties or location, the employer will have to file an amendment first and only after it is approved, you can join them.