H1B transfer without visiting to US

[ankuankit]

Hi,
I am working with a Company A in india from last 2 years and got the valid H1b visa stamped on May 2010 valid till sept. 2012. Upto now i haven't gone to US once. So i dont have I 94 form with me.
Now I am planning to go to company B in india, and my Company A in india will take the form I 797b and cancel the H1B visa. Transfer of H1b is like new H1b application.

Q1 : - is it legal to take the I797b form from the H1b holder by the company who filed the h1b visa ??
Q2:- Will it Stamped " CANCELED " on the stamped page or any other Code will be there ?
Q3 :- Will my Company B able to file a new H1B visa that will not come under H1b cap because i will not have I797b form as taken by the company A?
Q4:- If i refuse to provide my petition I797b to current Company A, will it be illegal ?
Q5:-What is the procedure of H1B cancellation?How many days will it take to cancel?



Please reply as soon as possible.

[shervin143]

Q1 : - is it legal to take the I797b form from the H1b holder by the company who filed the h1b visa ??
>>> H1B is an employer's petition. They can take it if they want. If you are not going to work for them any more, then there is no use in having it with you. Just take a copy of it for your records and return it if they ask. You don't loose anything by doing so.

Q2:- Will it Stamped " CANCELED " on the stamped page or any other Code will be there ?
>>> The company can only revoke the H1B petition, not your visa. They cannot do anything with the visa that is stamped in your passport. You don't have to give them your passport.

Q3 :- Will my Company B able to file a new H1B visa that will not come under H1b cap because i will not have I797b form as taken by the company A?
>>> Possible with just the recipt notice of the approval from Company A. Just give Company B a copy of the I-797 approval notice from Company A to make things easy.

Q4:- If i refuse to provide my petition I797b to current Company A, will it be illegal ?
>>> Like I mentioned earlier, you have no use with that petition if you no longer work for that employer. The new employer will anyhow need to file an H1B petition on your behalf and that should get approved. The new employer can file a petition using the old CAP from Company A.

Q5:-What is the procedure of H1B cancellation?How many days will it take to cancel?
>>> Anytime between 1-3 months. If you leave the employer, then you can no longer use that petition. So you shouldn't bother when the actual revoke will happen.

[ankuankit]

Thanks Shervin for your clear and quick reply.

Q3 :- Will my Company B able to file a new H1B visa that will not come under H1b cap because i will not have I797b form as taken by the company A?
>>> Possible with just the recipt notice of the approval from Company A. Just give Company B a copy of the I-797 approval notice from Company A to make things easy.


------ My condition is, i am switching to next employer and they are intersted to transfer my H1B and what happen if current employer cancel my h1b and will not provide any "reciept notice of approval" as you have stated. In this situation, how my new employer will transfer or re-apply H1B.

Q :- I am confused between transfer or re-apply , as many forums says there's nothing like transfer of H1b. H1b will get null when you leave the company. Please give me the clear understanding of transfer or re-apply, if my next employer re-apply then is it the same process as First H1B?

[shervin143]

------ My condition is, i am switching to next employer and they are intersted to transfer my H1B and what happen if current employer cancel my h1b and will not provide any "reciept notice of approval" as you have stated. In this situation, how my new employer will transfer or re-apply H1B.

>>> You did not get the point. You don't need the receipt notice of the cancellation. Do you have a copy of your existing approval notice form Company A (I-797). If yes, then give your new employer a copy of it and they should be able to apply the transfer using the existing CAP. If you don't have a copy of the approval notice, then you should provide them at least the receipt number from the approval notice. Without that, it is not possible to apply a new H1B under the same CAP.


Q :- I am confused between transfer or re-apply , as many forums says there's nothing like transfer of H1b. H1b will get null when you leave the company. Please give me the clear understanding of transfer or re-apply, if my next employer re-apply then is it the same process as First H1B?
>>> Tranfer / New petition under the same CAP are all the same. Company B will anyhow have to apply a new H1B petition on your behalf for you to work for them. If you provide a copy of the approavl notice from Company A, then they can apply the H1B under the same CAP and request an immediate start date. If not, they have to apply the H1B under a new CAP. That can be done only when the CAP for the current year is open. If the CAP has exceeded, then you will have to wait until the next year.

[ankuankit]

Thanks for response.

Is there anything that i need to take care of , before leaving the current employer?

[shervin143]

Just make sure you get the experience letter with full name, designation, years worked, roles & responsibilities etc. It will come in handly during the future visa interview, GC processing etc.

Thanks for response.

Is there anything that i need to take care of , before leaving the current employer?

[ankuankit]

Thanks Shervin for your information.