J1 status while waiting for H1B application

[Sim785]

Hello everyone,
My current employer will extend my J1 visa until march 2017. It can be extended up to maximum March 2018. I have found a company who would like to sponsor my H1B visa and will apply for it in April 2016. My question is if I can continue to work and be payed by my current employer from the moment the H1B application is submitted April 2016 until I get the H1B ( from what I understood October 2016) or my J1 status becomes invalid once I apply for H1B?
Also I will have to apply for a J1 waiver, but I will do that prior to H1B application, sometime by the end of the month.
Thank you and I really appreciate your answers.

[kabkaba]

H1 status will become effective on Oct 1 (even if approved in say July). Until Oct 1 you must maintain J1 status and after Oct 1 you must maintain H1B status (that means you must start working for H1 employer from Oct 1).