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Lay off....need urgent help
- Thread starter A0001
- Start date
transfer ASAP!
Strictly speaking, you are immediately out of status. However, USCIS knows about layoffs and was kinda turning a blind eye in 2002/2003 and approving transfers. It doesn't hurt to attempt a transfer *ASAP*. At the worst, they'll approve the case as a new (not transfer) H-1B, but deny the transfer and refer the case to the corresponding consulate. However, the cap for this year has been filled so I'm not sure what will really happen. In such an event, I'm *optimistic* that USCIS will indeed approve the transfer.
Also check if your terminating employer is planning to inform USCIS about your termination. The smaller employers are apparently not required to do so. If you delay, you might not have a recent pay stub to attach with your transfer application. With a new application (new H-1B, now not possible due to cap exhaustion) this is normally not an issue.
Good luck and let us know what happens. More importantly check with an attorney. Also be aware of the 180 days 3 years bar and 180 days 10 years bar rules.
A0001 said:Terminated from company, is there any time frame to transfer h1b visa?
please advice me
Strictly speaking, you are immediately out of status. However, USCIS knows about layoffs and was kinda turning a blind eye in 2002/2003 and approving transfers. It doesn't hurt to attempt a transfer *ASAP*. At the worst, they'll approve the case as a new (not transfer) H-1B, but deny the transfer and refer the case to the corresponding consulate. However, the cap for this year has been filled so I'm not sure what will really happen. In such an event, I'm *optimistic* that USCIS will indeed approve the transfer.
Also check if your terminating employer is planning to inform USCIS about your termination. The smaller employers are apparently not required to do so. If you delay, you might not have a recent pay stub to attach with your transfer application. With a new application (new H-1B, now not possible due to cap exhaustion) this is normally not an issue.
Good luck and let us know what happens. More importantly check with an attorney. Also be aware of the 180 days 3 years bar and 180 days 10 years bar rules.
10 days
180 days rule and all if fine. But you are suppose to leave in 10 days. That is what I was told by an immigration officer when I enquired in 2001
memsg said:Strictly speaking, you are immediately out of status. However, USCIS knows about layoffs and was kinda turning a blind eye in 2002/2003 and approving transfers. It doesn't hurt to attempt a transfer *ASAP*. At the worst, they'll approve the case as a new (not transfer) H-1B, but deny the transfer and refer the case to the corresponding consulate. However, the cap for this year has been filled so I'm not sure what will really happen. In such an event, I'm *optimistic* that USCIS will indeed approve the transfer.
Also check if your terminating employer is planning to inform USCIS about your termination. The smaller employers are apparently not required to do so. If you delay, you might not have a recent pay stub to attach with your transfer application. With a new application (new H-1B, now not possible due to cap exhaustion) this is normally not an issue.
Good luck and let us know what happens. More importantly check with an attorney. Also be aware of the 180 days 3 years bar and 180 days 10 years bar rules.
180 days rule and all if fine. But you are suppose to leave in 10 days. That is what I was told by an immigration officer when I enquired in 2001
TheRealCanadian
Volunteer Moderator
memsg said:However, the cap for this year has been filled so I'm not sure what will really happen. In such an event, I'm *optimistic* that USCIS will indeed approve the transfer.
If the individual was in H-1B status and was subject to the cap when the original H-1B was obtained, then he is cap-exempt now. However, if he has a filed I-485 he is not out of status at all.
Also be aware of the 180 days 3 years bar and 180 days 10 years bar rules.
These bars only apply after an I-94 has been overstayed. If I enter the US on a 3-year H-1B and get laid off after 10 days, I can stay for 2 years and 355 days before I accumulate a single day of illegal presence that counts towards the 180 days (for the 3 year bar) and the 365 days (for the 10 year bar).
TheRealCanadian said:These bars only apply after an I-94 has been overstayed. If I enter the US on a 3-year H-1B and get laid off after 10 days, I can stay for 2 years and 355 days before I accumulate a single day of illegal presence that counts towards the 180 days (for the 3 year bar) and the 365 days (for the 10 year bar).
Absolutely incorrect! The I-94 becomes invalid as soon as the underlying basis for admission is invalidated (losing a job which forms the basis of the H1B or failing to enrol in school that forms the basis of an F-1 etc).
Whether or not such illegal presence can be later detected and punished is another matter.
CouldNotPost
Registered Users (C)
if cap is a bottleneck,
pls keep in mind cap-exempt employment options - universities, ngos etc... good luck...
pls keep in mind cap-exempt employment options - universities, ngos etc... good luck...
will_prevail
Registered Users (C)
Once you loose your job, technically you have to leave the country in two weeks. You should use this time to find another employer immediatly. The H1b Cap will not apply to you as yours will be a transfer case.
Legally speaking, employers are bound by law to intimate BCIS that they are letting an H1b employee go. In practice very few employers intimate the BCIS due to various reasons. Even if they do intimate BCIS, the record updatation may take up to a few months. So you have some time. But please remember that to file for a H1b Transfer you need the latest pay stubs. So I would suggest that you find an employer immediatly.
All the best.
Legally speaking, employers are bound by law to intimate BCIS that they are letting an H1b employee go. In practice very few employers intimate the BCIS due to various reasons. Even if they do intimate BCIS, the record updatation may take up to a few months. So you have some time. But please remember that to file for a H1b Transfer you need the latest pay stubs. So I would suggest that you find an employer immediatly.
All the best.