Should I start working with new employer though I have an RFE on my H1b Transfer

[abax]

Hello,

I am currently on a H1B visa working with Employer A. I got a job with Employer B (an IT consulting / body shop) who applied for my H1B transfer and wanted me to start as soon as I got the receipt number. However, I insisted I wait till I get the approval in hand, specially since it was applied in Premium and was a question of 2 weeks.

Unfortunately, I got an RFE on the H1b transfer which asks for more details around the specialty occupation and day to day roles and responsibilities along with %ages.

The Employer B is now pushing me to go ahead and join and insists he can reply to the RFE only once I join so he can accurately reply to the RFE. I find that quite sketchy and not sure what to do ?

Any advise ? Should I wait or is it ok to go ahead and join the new company and respond to the RFE later ?

He told me we have 2 months to reply to the RFE ? Is that true ? What are the chances of the RFE being denied ?

Thanks in advance.

Abax

[scientist2016]

Hello,

I am currently on a H1B visa working with Employer A. I got a job with Employer B (an IT consulting / body shop) who applied for my H1B transfer and wanted me to start as soon as I got the receipt number. However, I insisted I wait till I get the approval in hand, specially since it was applied in Premium and was a question of 2 weeks.

Unfortunately, I got an RFE on the H1b transfer which asks for more details around the specialty occupation and day to day roles and responsibilities along with %ages.

The Employer B is now pushing me to go ahead and join and insists he can reply to the RFE only once I join so he can accurately reply to the RFE. I find that quite sketchy and not sure what to do ?

Any advise ? Should I wait or is it ok to go ahead and join the new company and respond to the RFE later ?

He told me we have 2 months to reply to the RFE ? Is that true ? What are the chances of the RFE being denied ?

Thanks in advance.
Abax

Yes 2 months to respond to RFE is typical. But the explanation of not being able to respond now viz., you need to join them, is bogus. It is indeed sketchy, and there certainly is a risk involved. However, one could argue that having spent the time and money for H1 transfer, the employer would not want to lose by not responding properly to the RFE and getting the petition denied. How to weigh the risk of joining now depends entirely on your personal circumstances. I would try to get the employer B to respond to the RFE before joining, since as you mentioned the petition was filed in the premium category so the result should come out soon hopefully.