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Thank you very much OP and congrats that everything worked out fine at the end for you!!
Probably one of the most useful things I have read in this bowl. Blog your experience OP!
Thanks! I actually found out about the chance of looking for a job after the 60 days period in this bowl. Unfortunately the info they gave me
weren’t very clear so I had to pay the lawyer and get the info straight. I wish I had more info related the unlawful presence! Especially now that is not easy to fly back home
I had an immigration lawyer that guided me through the this for the first time in 9 years because I couldn’t find a ton of info about what happens after the 60 days and the lawyer gave me a good clarification about this. This is also what happen to me so it’s not an hypocritical scenario.
The 60 days is for look for a job while you are in the United States. After the 60 is not illegal to stay but you’ll start to have unlawful presence, which is different from being illegal and it’s consider a”grey area”. If you decide to have unlawful presence it seems you will have to disclose it if future visa applications (when they require to disclose it). I’m not really sure about the impact on the unlawful presence on future visa applications as I preferred to leave the country after the 60 days.
What happen after the 60 days? If you don’t find a job in 60 days you are allowed keep searching for a job with the H1b until is valid. So if the visa is valid until in September 2021 you can search for a job until then.
The second point is where do you want to be doing the job search after the 60 days? If you don’t want to have any unlawful presence and you haven’t find the job in the 60 days, the best way to do it is to leave the country after the 60 days deadline. You H-1b visa will be still valid and can keep the job search going from your own country. I didn’t have any problem with this as most of the interviews are phone and through Skype Skype calls. Once you get an offer you can start to do the “h-1b transfer” and the lawyer in charge with the petition has to mark a box “ consular process”. You won’t need to go to the consular for the “transfer”, it’s just because you aren’t in the US, while the “transfer” is happening. Once the “transfer” is complete the lawyer will mail you the I-797 so you can enter in the states. I did this process and it worked out fine and the transfer was approved in 2 weeks. Just FYI once you enter you have to start to work within 30 days.
I’m not really sure about the steps to take if you do the unlawful presence as I didn’t do it. My lawyer didn’t advise me to do it and but it seems I could get the transfer done with unlawful presence but I’m not 100% sure about this.
I used Murphy law firm and it seems they are very well prepared on any questions related the h-1b. They are way more capable than other companies and I have done couple h-1b transfers in my life. It’s definitely costly, but I couldn’t find any info related this topic and it was $200 for just 30 minutes. It seems 30 Mins aren’t a lot but actually the lawyer was able to address all my concerns in 20 minutes and we covered everything. As I had time leftover, I had the chance to ask random questions for future visa applications and GC and I didn’t need an additional consultation. They also came back to me and asked me if I need more help by email it will be covered included in the service.
Hope this help!
Rising Star
I’m pretty sure your h-1b stamp/visa and I797 they have to be valid. The stamp can have your old company on it but everything else needs to be up to date
Makes sense!
Post fast 😬
It’s a long story! It’s posted now
Thanks for the super helpful post OP 🙏
One follow up Q: Wouldn’t the ex-employer usually proceed to revoke/cancel the visa after the 60 days period (after separation)? So we can’t search for a job (even if we’re outside the US) after the visa has been revoked, right? Or can we?
Chief
Yeah, you need a stamp to get in so you would have to get it. I didn’t have to get my stamp because I had a valid one on my passport. It doesn’t have to have the right company but it has to be there and be valid.
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing OP.. I think you are referring to Murthy law firm. Although none of this situations are easy there can be multiple flavors to it. Given the Covid situation if u have to leave now whether it’s after 60 days or before depending on i94 validity , coming back might be tougher since consulates are closed and we r into recession
Yes, I wrote the comment really quick and I should have reviewed it 😂 as my English is terrible lol! I’m referring to Murthy law firm.
It s true that it could be hard to come back to the US post-Covid. My main reason for posting this is to help people like me that didn’t know what to do after 60 days period if there is time left in the H-1b. My situation was even crazier because I did part of my interview process in the US and part in my own country, I was panicking during that time because my second interview was scheduled after the 60 days period and I wasn’t really sure about my options. In all these years I never seek for help from an immigration lawyer. My previous companies used immigration law firm for filling the h-1b petitions, but for my other visas or concerns I did it always by myself as the information are out there on the USCIS website and other websites, but this time I was actually lost as this new rule was introduced in 2017
Thanks for sharing the experience. Very helpful. So u got the offer and h1b approved but won't start working until you can travel into the US or can you start working already remotely?
I was laid off last year due cuts in my company so it wasn’t laid off due the coronavirus. Same as other people, I had hard time finding a new job due the H-1b visa. Even if I didn’t need to go through the lottery, companies didn’t want to sponsor me. When I was running out of time one company called me and I did my first interview. My problem was that they scheduled the second interview after my 60 day deadline and I didn’t know what to do. So I contacted the law firm and they explained to me that my best option was to leave the country and finishing the hiring process in my own country. So I left the Us, I did the second interview, and signed my offer. Then, the company together with a immigration law firm started the “transfer” process even If I wasn’t in the US, once my petition was approved the law firm mailed the I-797 and I was able to come back and start my job.
Don’t you need to go for visa stamping to reenter the US? Assuming your visa stamp is expired.
Rising Star
I definitely like speaking with Murthy immigration law firm. As I mentioned in other responses I’m not that type of person that use the lawyer for every single visa or question, but in this case it was the best money I’ve ever spent. Just keep in mind that the process can take a while, so make sure the Canadian visa is long enough for your stay.
Do you know if you can do the following while you wait for an offer? Exit the US after 60 days is up -> Re-enter US under tourist visa -> Continue job searching in the US until getting an offer
Thank you
Has anyone had experience with change of status to B2?