A Big confusion Expert advice needed please!

C

cookie_monster

Registered Users (C)
hello,
I'll be as simple as possible. I am here on F1 and going to school full-time in Masters program (already did bachelors from U.S). a company applied for my H1b back on May 24. which has been approved today Oct 18. the big confusion i am having is
I've travelled back to India during my application was in process. I went there in June and came back in Aug after about 2 months. i was not asked anything at the port of entry except if i've applied of an H1b, because it was mentioned on I-20 as "change of status requested", which i answered in a positive ofcourse.

Now as my h1b has been approved, what is my status at this moment. Please help me out in this confusion. can I start working or do I've to leave the U.S and get the visa stamped before i can start working.

any advice will be very much appriciated

regards,
 
cookie_monster said:
Now as my h1b has been approved, what is my status at this moment. Please help me out in this confusion. can I start working or do I've to leave the U.S and get the visa stamped before i can start working.
,
Click to expand...

your current status depends on what you get upon H1 approval.
If you get approval notice with I94 attached, your status will be changed to
H1 automatically upon start date. You do not need visa stamp in this case, however, next time you travel abroad, you need to have H1 visa stamp in your passport to enter the US.
If you get approval notice without I94 attached, your status still remain F1, and you need to get H1 stamp and enter the US as H1 holder.
 
GotPR? said:
your current status depends on what you get upon H1 approval.
If you get approval notice with I94 attached, your status will be changed to
H1 automatically upon start date. You do not need visa stamp in this case, however, next time you travel abroad, you need to have H1 visa stamp in your passport to enter the US.
If you get approval notice without I94 attached, your status still remain F1, and you need to get H1 stamp and enter the US as H1 holder.
Click to expand...

GotPR?, thanks for the reply. I went to my International student advisor and he said that i should not worry and my status would also change to H1B because at the time the case approved i was back in the U.S. What do you think about it?
regards,
 
Just the fact your H1 petition was approved while you are in the US does not enable your H1 status. Status in the US is determined by what visa you use upon your entry to the US. If you use F1 to enter the US last time, you are on F1 status now. If you use H1B (with H1B stamp) to enter the US last time, you are on H1 status now.
The exceptional case is change of status.
If your change of status from F1 to H1 is approved in the US, you'll receive approval notice with I94. This changes your status from F1 to H1 automatically upon the start date of H1B job. If your H1 is approved but you do not get updated I94, it means change of status is denied(this does NOT mean your H1 is denied) and you need to reenter the US with H1 visa to be on H1 status.

What was approval notice ? was that I-797A or I-797B ? If I-797A, you can find I94 attached to the approval document and your status will be automatically changed to H1, but if I797B is the one you received, you remain F1. Ask your adviser.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
GotPR? said:
Just the fact your H1 petition was approved while you are in the US does not enable your H1 status. Status in the US is determined by what visa you use upon your entry to the US. If you use F1 to enter the US last time, you are on F1 status now. If you use H1B (with H1B stamp) to enter the US last time, you are on H1 status now.
The exceptional case is change of status.
If your change of status from F1 to H1 is approved in the US, you'll receive approval notice with I94. This changes your status from F1 to H1 automatically upon the start date of H1B job. If your H1 is approved but you do not get updated I94, it means change of status is denied(this does NOT mean your H1 is denied) and you need to reenter the US with H1 visa to be on H1 status.

What was approval notice ? was that I-797A or I-797B ? If I-797A, you can find I94 attached to the approval document and your status will be automatically changed to H1, but if I797B is the one you received, you remain F1. Ask your adviser.
Click to expand...


I've not recieved the approval notice yet. I hope when i get it its 797A. I'll inform u once i get it. anyhow thanks a lot for the advice.
regards,
 
Approval notice may not come to you directly. It is usually mailed to your employer or laywer that you or your employer hires. Ask them to show you approval notice.
 
GotPR? said:
Approval notice may not come to you directly. It is usually mailed to your employer or laywer that you or your employer hires. Ask them to show you approval notice.
Click to expand...

Dear GotPR?
I've recieved a copy of my approval notice today from my attorney. It has an I94 attached at the bottom. Now do u think everything is fine for me?
and thanks for the help u've provided.
regards,
 
Yes, check "class" in I94. It should say H1 or H1B or H1B1. If so, your status will be changed to H1 automatically when your start date comes.
Please confirm with attorney.
 
GotPR? said:
Yes, check "class" in I94. It should say H1 or H1B or H1B1. If so, your status will be changed to H1 automatically when your start date comes.
Please confirm with attorney.
Click to expand...

Dear GotPR?,
thanks for the quick reply, well the I94 says H1B class. but i was discussing this situation at another forum as well. this is what somebody told me

"I assume that you are ok if the number on the new I94 matches the one currently in your passport - it will match whatever was there when you applied, so if it is different then you have already left the country on that I94 and the new one is not valid. I'm not an expert so I might not be 100% correct but I know that on my L1 renewal the number on the replacement matched the one in my passport."

now the number on approval notice I94 is different from the I94 i have in my passport right now BUT its same as the one i had in my passport when i left the U.S.A. in June.

I would greatly appriciate if u explain this. Thank you
 
Sorry i missed you have departed the US during change of status(COS) pending.
If you left the US during COS pending, you are considered to abandon COS request. Your H1 approval is still valid, but you may need to get H1 stamp and need to reenter the US.
I recommend to talk to attorney.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top