Travel during F1 to H1B conversion

[abhinavvinay]

Hi,

I am currently on F1 OPT Extention status. It will expire on December 12th. My company is willing to sponsor my H1B visa. I assume the earlier the better the chances. I need to travel to India in August for a week.

1) If I file for H1B before that can I still travel to India and come back?

a) what would happen if my H1B gets approved while I am out of my country?
b) If I expedite the process and get my H1B approved before august can I travel still travel to India in august?

2) Would it be too late to file for H1B visa at the end of August?

Your advices are much appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Abhinav Chandran

[shervin143]

It depends on whether the employer is filing the H1B as a COS from F1 or for consular process.

[abhinavvinay]

Yeah, it could be a COS filing...

[shervin143]

If it is a COS, then you are not suppose to leave the country until Oct 1st. The COS will get denied if you leave the country when the petition is pending. There are plenty of posts that explains why it is never advisable to do so. Search and read them. If you have to leave, then return back only after Oct 1st on a valid H1B visa.

[abhinavvinay]

Damn!! Would applying in July be considered very risky?

[shervin143]

Hard to say. 42k out out of 65k applications have already been filed. Keep an eye on the CAP count in uscis.gov website and file it when the CAP reaches close to 55K to be on the safer side. Ask the employer to keep all the documents ready for filing.

Damn!! Would applying in July be considered very risky?

[abhinavvinay]

Thank you so much!!