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  • H1 weird case with Employer dissolved

    This is my current case:

    My H1 was expiring in July 2014 and my Company A applied for an extension on time and in Premium Processing (towards end of June 2014). Unfortunately I got an RFE (but a simple one asking to prove employee/employer relationship) and the employer A responded to it properly with all required letters and documentation in October 2014 before the RFE expiration date. The USCIS received it on time, but since then the case was put on hold (almost 4 months now). I just have 1 more year on my H1B before the 6 yrs is complete, but I also have I-140 approved with Company A 2 years back.
    I came to know recently that all cases of this Company A were put on hold because the CEO of my employer A and the president have been convicted of violating immigration law. So, it looks like now that the Company A is dissolved in the eyes of the government.
    I have my paystubs till the end of Jan 2015 from Company A (my last pay stub was generated on Feb 11th, today being Feb 17), but I am not sure if I will receive my pay stub for Feb moving forward. I did not receive any official communication from Company A as well that it is no longer running, but none of the telephone numbers of this company work and they are no longer responding to emails.

    1) Can I transfer my H1 even with the RFE pending for over 4 months and h1 extension pending for more than 6 months even with Premium processing? (I have my I-140 approved 2 years back, but a couple of new employers are not willing to proceed on H1 transfer until my RFE is resolved and until a new Client Letter is available)
    2) Am I out of status now even if the company is not responding or did not send any official communication and my RFE status is still NOT denied & is pending?
    3) How long will I have before when I can move to a different employer, (my 240 days on expired I-94 will be due in first week of March 2015)?
    4) My wife is on H1 too, so should I change to H4 rather than H1 transfer (coz I also got a full time offer, but they were skeptical to transfer my H1 because of the situation I am in )

    Please help answer them asap as I am not sure what my status is currently. Appreciate all your time folks !
    Last edited by gomsi; 02-17-2015, 03:46 PM.

  • #2
    Originally posted by gomsi View Post
    This is my current case:

    My H1 was expiring in July 2014 and my Company A applied for an extension on time and in Premium Processing (towards end of June 2014). Unfortunately I got an RFE (but a simple one asking to prove employee/employer relationship) and the employer A responded to it properly with all required letters and documentation in October 2014 before the RFE expiration date. The USCIS received it on time, but since then the case was put on hold (almost 4 months now). I just have 1 more year on my H1B before the 6 yrs is complete, but I also have I-140 approved with Company A 2 years back.
    I came to know recently that all cases of this Company A were put on hold because the CEO of my employer A and the president have been convicted of violating immigration law. So, it looks like now that the Company A is dissolved in the eyes of the government.
    I have my paystubs till the end of Jan 2015 from Company A (my last pay stub was generated on Feb 11th, today being Feb 17), but I am not sure if I will receive my pay stub for Feb moving forward. I did not receive any official communication from Company A as well that it is no longer running, but none of the telephone numbers of this company work and they are no longer responding to emails.

    1) Can I transfer my H1 even with the RFE pending for over 4 months and h1 extension pending for more than 6 months even with Premium processing? (I have my I-140 approved 2 years back, but a couple of new employers are not willing to proceed on H1 transfer until my RFE is resolved and until a new Client Letter is available)
    2) Am I out of status now even if the company is not responding or did not send any official communication and my RFE status is still NOT denied & is pending?
    3) How long will I have before when I can move to a different employer, (my 240 days on expired I-94 will be due in first week of March 2015)?
    4) My wife is on H1 too, so should I change to H4 rather than H1 transfer (coz I also got a full time offer, but they were skeptical to transfer my H1 because of the situation I am in )

    Please help answer them asap as I am not sure what my status is currently. Appreciate all your time folks !
    As your I-94 has already expired, you basically are out of status unless A's extension gets approved, also you cannot file for a "transfer" or a move to H4 visa. If you dont see A's petition going anywhere, the next best option would be to leave US, go for H4 stamping based on your spouse's H1, re-enter US on H4, then using the old H1, ask another employer to file a cap exempt H1.
    The larger issue that can happen is that USCIS revokes your employer A's petition altogether thereby nullifying the petition itself in which case you would have to file a fresh petition. So, as a back up it would be safe to ask a genuine employer to initiate a fresh H1 too for you in the upcoming April 2015 cap.

    This is my opinion not legal advice.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by raghvi View Post
      As your I-94 has already expired, you basically are out of status unless A's extension gets approved, also you cannot file for a "transfer" or a move to H4 visa. If you dont see A's petition going anywhere, the next best option would be to leave US, go for H4 stamping based on your spouse's H1, re-enter US on H4, then using the old H1, ask another employer to file a cap exempt H1.
      The larger issue that can happen is that USCIS revokes your employer A's petition altogether thereby nullifying the petition itself in which case you would have to file a fresh petition. So, as a back up it would be safe to ask a genuine employer to initiate a fresh H1 too for you in the upcoming April 2015 cap.

      This is my opinion not legal advice.
      Thanks for the reply. But me not being in status may not be entirely true. I spoke to the attorney who responded to my RFE and he said since my RFE is still pending, and I have the latest paystubs, I am still legally staying in the US. I can and should be able to 'transfer' my H1 immediately before a decision is made on the pending RFE. He said I can even apply for a H4 from within the US. Also there is a very minor chance of them revoking the H1, but even if they do, that would never nullify all the 5 years I put on my H1 so I do not need to worry about coming in the April Cap at all. So, if anyone in this situation, since it is the employer who is at fault, the employee still can transfer/apply for COS as long as the status was maintained with latest pay stubs. But all of it shud be done before a decision is made on the pending petition. Hope that helps !!

      Comment

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