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Hello all,
I applied and obtained an H1B through a consultant this year. The visa (and my job) was supposed to start on October 1 this year. However, due to personal reasons, I took voluntary unpaid leave till December 1 and have not joined my client till date. I have now got to know that my client project basically does not need me now. I may not be able to get another project in the next few weeks since I am busy due to personal reasons.
A few questions:
1) Do you recommend me doing a CoS to H4 ASAP, or can I wait till december 1st, since my leave application has been approved by my consultant. The leave however is unpaid. If I wait till december 1, will I be "out of status" for two months?
2) If yes #1, then how do I evidence that I was in status for the month of October? Do I submit a copy of my approved leave application from my consultant or submit no proof (I don't have paystubs). If they do come back with a RFE by (say) jan 2016, will I have to justify the gap of only october or october-jan then? The point is that if I will have to justify a gap of october-jan, then I'd rather bite the bullet and submit the unpaid leave letter for a month right now (as the unpaid leave is easier to fly for 1 month than 3/4 months).
3) If I do a CoS to H4 now, I believe it will take a month to get the receipt and ~3 months to receive the final decision. If I get a job before I get the CoS to H4 receipt, can I submit the new H1B application along with an application to cancel my pending CoS to H4 in premium processing and be able to join the new employer based on just the receipt of the new H1B application? The point is that most employers will not want to wait the month or so that it might take to resolve my new H1B application (considering I receive a RFE because of my complicated case/previous gap).
4) Do you think that there are decent chances that this CoS to H4 will get denied? if yes then do you think I'm better off to fly back to India and re-enter on H4. The point is this way my "out of status" period will be only a month as opposed to 3/4 months (if I wait for the CoS decision and that CoS gets denied).
5) If yes to #4 above, will I have to get another stamping done on my H4 (My current H4 stamp is valid till May 2016) or I can just re-enter the US and show my valid H4 at point of entry and get my new H4 based I-94? The point is that if I will have to visit the consulate again, then they might again ask questions on the October month gap.
Thanks for reading through!
Richa Khanna
I applied and obtained an H1B through a consultant this year. The visa (and my job) was supposed to start on October 1 this year. However, due to personal reasons, I took voluntary unpaid leave till December 1 and have not joined my client till date. I have now got to know that my client project basically does not need me now. I may not be able to get another project in the next few weeks since I am busy due to personal reasons.
A few questions:
1) Do you recommend me doing a CoS to H4 ASAP, or can I wait till december 1st, since my leave application has been approved by my consultant. The leave however is unpaid. If I wait till december 1, will I be "out of status" for two months?
2) If yes #1, then how do I evidence that I was in status for the month of October? Do I submit a copy of my approved leave application from my consultant or submit no proof (I don't have paystubs). If they do come back with a RFE by (say) jan 2016, will I have to justify the gap of only october or october-jan then? The point is that if I will have to justify a gap of october-jan, then I'd rather bite the bullet and submit the unpaid leave letter for a month right now (as the unpaid leave is easier to fly for 1 month than 3/4 months).
3) If I do a CoS to H4 now, I believe it will take a month to get the receipt and ~3 months to receive the final decision. If I get a job before I get the CoS to H4 receipt, can I submit the new H1B application along with an application to cancel my pending CoS to H4 in premium processing and be able to join the new employer based on just the receipt of the new H1B application? The point is that most employers will not want to wait the month or so that it might take to resolve my new H1B application (considering I receive a RFE because of my complicated case/previous gap).
4) Do you think that there are decent chances that this CoS to H4 will get denied? if yes then do you think I'm better off to fly back to India and re-enter on H4. The point is this way my "out of status" period will be only a month as opposed to 3/4 months (if I wait for the CoS decision and that CoS gets denied).
5) If yes to #4 above, will I have to get another stamping done on my H4 (My current H4 stamp is valid till May 2016) or I can just re-enter the US and show my valid H4 at point of entry and get my new H4 based I-94? The point is that if I will have to visit the consulate again, then they might again ask questions on the October month gap.
Thanks for reading through!
Richa Khanna
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