H-1B after laid off

O

ocean2005

New Member
Hello,

My company laid me off a couple of days ago without
early notice. I was shocked. I hold H-1B, and my company
didn't apply green card for me. How long is the grace period?
If I can find a job very soon, can my future employer pick
up my paperwork of H-1?

Thanks in advance!
 
ocean2005 said:
Hello,

My company laid me off a couple of days ago without
early notice. I was shocked. I hold H-1B, and my company
didn't apply green card for me. How long is the grace period?
If I can find a job very soon, can my future employer pick
up my paperwork of H-1?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

There is no offical grace period. However, the USCIS has unofficially allowed 10 days for someone who has lost their H1-B status to gain valid status or leave the country.

If you can find another employer to sponsor your H1-B, you can begin working for them as soon as the company receives the receipt notice of the "change of status" application.

NN
 
Thanks, and more questions (H-1B laid off)

Thank you for your response!

Can you explain "receipt notice of the "change of status" application", is it
something my old employer should file, or my future employer should file,
or myself? at what time?

If I find a job in two months, can my future employer uses my old
H-1B, or do them have to apply for a new H-1b for me?

My wife holds F-1 student visa, can I change my status to F-2 and then
if I find a job in two or three months, change my status back to H-1B?
Is it feasible?

Thanks again.




mdh3000 said:
There is no offical grace period. However, the USCIS has unofficially allowed 10 days for someone who has lost their H1-B status to gain valid status or leave the country.

If you can find another employer to sponsor your H1-B, you can begin working for them as soon as the company receives the receipt notice of the "change of status" application.

NN
Click to expand...
 
ocean2005 said:
Thank you for your response!

Can you explain "receipt notice of the "change of status" application", is it
something my old employer should file, or my future employer should file,
or myself? at what time?

If I find a job in two months, can my future employer uses my old
H-1B, or do them have to apply for a new H-1b for me?
Click to expand...

If you find another job that is the same as your old one (similar salary and responsibilities) the new company can file a "change of status" application. You or your old company don't need to file anything. It basically says that the new company will hire you in a manner similar to your old job, in line with your H1-B petition. They will send this application to the USCIS. The nice thing is that you don't have to wait until the application is approved, to start working. As soon as the USCIS sends back a "receipt notice" (which states they have received your application and it looks complete) you can start working for the new company. It should only take a couple weeks at the most.

If you take another job that is different than the one you had on your H1-B, the employer will need to file a new H1-B and you can't start working until it's approved. That will take one to four months.

My wife holds F-1 student visa, can I change my status to F-2 and then
if I find a job in two or three months, change my status back to H-1B?
Is it feasible?
Click to expand...

Yes, it would be a wise decision to make sure you remain in status.

I'm not 100% sure, but I believe your H1-B approval is valid until it expires, regardless if you changed to another status. So, what you could do is change to F-2 status, find a job, then switch back to H1-B status. Again, remember you'll have to find a similar job, or else a new H1-B application will need to be approved before you can work.

Again, I'm not 100% sure, but you may have to leave the country and re-enter (from Mexico or Canada is fine) in order to obtain H1-B status again.

I think the most important thing right now is to ensure you do not fall out of status.

mdh3000
 
Thanks

NN,

Thank you for your helpful info. We appreciate your
kindest efforts to help us with answering these questions
even we don't know each other. It is our honors to
communicate with you.

Ocean
 
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