H1B New Employer - Amendment Duration?

[sunkingac]

Hi,
I have a STAMPED H1B visa (valid till 2016 end) filed by Employer A.
I resigned and joined Employer B.

Do I have to go for stamping again for the employer B?
Or
Do the Employer B has to do amendments to my H1B?
How long does it usually take for approval of amendment in both regular and premium process ?


Please let me know the details asap.

- Arun

[raghvi]

Hi,
I have a STAMPED H1B visa (valid till 2016 end) filed by Employer A.
I resigned and joined Employer B.

Do I have to go for stamping again for the employer B?
Or
Do the Employer B has to do amendments to my H1B?
How long does it usually take for approval of amendment in both regular and premium process ?


Please let me know the details asap.

- Arun

Employer B has to file its own H1 petition, the advantage that they can take is that you are already cap counted in last 6 Years so no need to go through fresh quota/lottery again. Once this cap exempt petition is approved you have two choices. One, to go for fresh visa stamping, or, two, to travel on existing visa but show the new employer's petition at the Port of Entry. The disadvantage of the second method is that you would most likely be given authority to stay and work (I-94) only till visa expiry, that is, 2016 end, even if B's petition end date is beyond that date, in which case additional cost would be incurred to extend I-94 beyond 2016 End (while you are in US).

In order for B to file LCA and cap exempt Petition and get it approved, it can take 3-6 Months under regular processing and about 4 weeks in premium processing, provided no RFE is raised.

This is my opinion not legal advice.