Highly urgent: OPT validity: already 1 approval for H1B

[gauravhawk]

Currently I am working on STEM OPT (valid until Nov 2011)with company A. I have few questions regarding my status:

Before I joined company A, I was with company B on OPT itself and I got H1B approval notice from that company which is supposed to kick-in on Oct 1, 2010. Then I left company B and joined A and company A also has filed my H1B application which is still pending for approval. Now my concern is that if my H1B application for company A remains pending past Oct 1, 2010, can I continue working on my OPT with company A past Oct 1, 2010? Does my approval with company B automatically terminates my OPT on Sep 30, 2010 or it doesn't affect as I am no more with company B? Just a recap, I am no more employed with company B.

Please clarify.

Thanks
Gaurav

[shervin143]

Since the H1B petition was applied as a COS, your status will automatically chnage to H1B starting Oct 1st. Instead of filing a fresh H1B petition with Company A, you should have applied for the H1B transfer. When you are in H1B, you need to be working for the employer who filed the H1B petition and get paid accordingly. If yu are no longer with that employer, then you will have to do apply for a COS back to your current status or leave the country and re-enter back in F1 visa.

[txh1b]

If yu are no longer with that employer, then you will have to do apply for a COS back to your current status or leave the country and re-enter back in F1 visa.

It does not work that way for F1/OPT. Once a H1b is approved, in essence, the person has lost the remaining period of OPT as of that effective start day and also the F1 status. They cannot reinstate the OPT back just because one re-entered on F1 again. In fact, the legality of being able to re-enter on F1 is questionable without a new I-20 and/or a visa.