H1b Approved. In India for stamping. Issue

[quickquestion]

Hi everyone,
Ive found a lot of similar scenarios to mine around these forums but not specific to mine. Here's my problem. I was on F1. My OPT expires in 10 days. I came to India few days back. I was working for 6.5 months on OPT before that. A desi consultancy applied for my H1 and I have been employed by him for the last 6.5 months. Now my H1 has been approved today. Here's my issue.
I know I shoulnt have come to India at this critial junction but there were reasons. My 2 questions are:
Since I came early in My OPT (2 weeks before it expired) will that cause problems when I go for stamping.
My F1 is still valid. Can I apply to a community college get an I20 and re-enter as soon as possible on F1 even though my H1 has been approved. Note I still have 10 days to transfer my I-20 since I'm still in status.
Thanks everyone. I hope you can help me.

[quickquestion]

Follow up.More info

Anyone here.. plz help

Also I would like to add that my H1 petition was approved after I travelled to India and from what I understand my COS (Change of Status) would have been denied because of this. So can I still come back on F1 and switch to H1 on Oct 1 by enrolling in a community college.Is it safe in case that is a possibility. Plz help. Thanks

[topcatin]

Ok so your H1 is approved but have you gone to the US consulate for the stamping?
Now that you have your H1 approved, you should go to the US consulate and get it stamped.
And H1 start date is oct1st, which means you can start work only then. So you have a H1 in hand,get it stamped on your passport and start work on oct1st.I am 100% sure that you can only start work on oct1st.Note that if you apply for F1 visa now and want to do a transfer, am not sure it will work.Because I have heard that if you apply for F1 and you have a H1 approved at the same time,H1 may become void.I have also heard you can do this change of transfer of being on F1 and then changing to H1.But from your mail I understand that your F1 expires in 10 days. So you cannot really re-enter the US with that,you need to have a H1 visa stamp for re-entry.The immigration officer at the point-of-entry(AIRPORT) can ask "what are you going to do in 10 days?" and the officer will want to see a visa-stamp in your passport for the H1.It makes more sense to have a visa stamped for 3 years than a F1/I-20 showing just 10 days.It is risky and they may send you back in such cases. And even if you get a F1 and want to do change of status,you have to come back to india and get it stamped. When you are in India now,you can as well get your visa stamped and then join work on Oct1st.Why go through this transfer and agony?

[quickquestion]

Thanks topcatin. My F1 visa is actually valid until July 2008.My OPT is expiring soon. I was thinking if its just easier to avoid the hassle of gettin an H1 stamped here because its a desi company which filed for my H1. Or is it easier to go back in a community college on my F1 and change to H1 on Oct 1st. Get it stamped eventually later once I've worked on H1 for a year or so.

[topcatin]

see be it desi company or a US company ,either way you have to get your visa stamped in the home country.
When you say July 2008 your F1 expires...but your OPT expires sometime in june 2007?
There is no way one can avoid from getting it stamped in India.You have to get your visa stamped in India,some people go to Canada. But the issue with Canada is ..in worst case something happens ,you have to return to India directly from canada.
You can get a visa or F1 for few months I guess during this period ( OPT expiry date to Oct1st 2007 ).Kaplan issues a I-20 but there is a specific time frame they also have. Like a month before OPT expires..somthing like that.
When does your OPT expire ?
Your F1 visa in your passport may show July 2008, but your OPT expires 2007 June or somethin..is that correct?
Yes you can get a I-20 from places like kaplan which is quick n fast.But see if you do that,you will go to the US and then you will in any case have to come back for stamping your visa.there is no escape to that.And I even doubt whether you can get a i-20 or f-1visa issued right now from a university.it is just too late.when your there right now in india..get the job done and move for work on oct1st.Why simply go and do this f1 and transfer and remember you have to in any case come back to india for stamping..or canada is an option where some people go to.

[quickquestion]

Yes you make sense. I just figured it would be safer for me to get it stamped in India after working for a year or so on H1b. Atleast thats what I've heard since it more or less seals the deal since I have paystubs on my H1b. I might get lucky if I get an easy officer, but if I get some one who starts scrutinizing my papers, then it will be a little tough.
My OPT expires June 1st so its tough for me to get back on my OPT. My employer's keen on me getting enrolled in a community college and coming back sooner. Even if I get a Kaplan I-20, the officer at the port of entry might end up wondering why I'm coming back on F1 to do a GMAT course when I already have a H1 approved for Oct1st. I did find a couple of community colleges still open for a summer admission but I dont know if its safe. I guess F1 is a hassle. But it was always an option to get a second opinion on.

[jagjinder]

H1b Approved. In India for stamping.

Hi

My case is somewhat similar. I shifted my job in USA in Jan2007, but my H1b for prev employer was till march 23rd 2007. the new employer filed for transfer in Dec 2006. however due to urgent reasons, i had to come to india in march itself before H1 expired. And could not go back because of the visa.
now my H1 has been extended and transferred to new employer.
what precautionary steps should i take before going to US consulate delhi?

Please help me out as i m quite nervous after seeing the rejection rates of H1.

Thanks

[topcatin]

Note that you can never work once your OPT expires on June1st.
You cannot work during that grace-period.Thats the law and if your consulting company is saying you can work..He is lieing and cooking up a story and even if you get the F1 you can work 20 hours like an internship.Consulting companies are known for their crookeries and fooling around to be honest. Just be patient and go for your H1-visa interview and finish it.Check with the necessary documents you need and go ahead.