H1-B visa grace period

A

ailine06

New Member
Hi,

I'm currently on a H1-B visa in Boston, MA. The company I'm working at is closing down in 2 months. I have 2 options.

1) take unpaid leave for 1 month and look for another employer but not having a pay slip for 1 month, will it affect the transfer of my H1-B visa to the next employer?

2) take this week as my last week with the company - but what is the grace period if this is my last week? Some say it's no more than 3 weeks to transfer my visa and some say 180 days.

I like to know in both situations, how best can I protect myself and stay in the United States and not affect the transfer.

Thank you!
 
Hi,

Recently my friend got same problem, He told me that he had gone through a law firm in USA that they are providing immigration law services and he added they are also provide free consultation call with immigration attorney for their queries. As he told me the law firm name is Gehi and Associates - Attorneys and counsellors at law.

Thanks
 
I can only comment on part of your post regarding (2): There is no grace period once your employment is terminated. Option 1 might work as if you find a job within that month, you _might_ be able to do a H1B transfer.

One option is to to switch status to a different visa (visitor, tourist, etc) while you search for a new job. Then your new employer can file a new H1B (though you'll need to take into account the quota whereas a transfer does not count towards the quota).
 
If an H1B worker is benched without pay, the employee will go out of status. It is possible for an employee to take a bona fide unpaid leave of absence for medical or other personal reasons, but it must be very carefully documented. The CIS will presume that the "leave of absence" was actually unpaid benching unless the petitioner can prove otherwise. If an employee genuinely needs to take time off, the employee needs to articulate the reasons, in careful detail, in writing. Ideally, the employee should include as much supporting evidence of the need as possible.Else you can use your EAD to search another job and get the H1B transferred.
 
I have a sort-of related question: My friend's H1B expires next month and she has no intentions to renew it. She has given notice, is wrapping up and moving back to her home country. The problem is, she just realized it expires Sept 15 and not 30th like she had thought all along. She planned to end her apt lease, pack and fly home by Oct 10/12. Will this be considered "overstaying" and is it potentially detrimental to any future immigration/visa applications (she has an immigrant visa petition in process with her family)? She has been advised to file an i-539 to request a change of status from H1B to B2 for that month that she will be here.. which seems unnecessary to me. Any ideas?
 
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