Out of status under no payroll for 60 days on H1B

[ggk125]

Hi
I have valid H1B visa approval till March 2017.i left my organization in the month of August 2015 and joined a new company in the month of October 2015.They have filed new H1 transfer, which is now under process.Due to personal problems I had to resign from my new job with in a month October 2015.But i received a salary for the month October 2015.i have not been on Payroll run in the month of September and November 2015.
My old employer did not revoke my H1B visa.How long i can stay in US without payroll.Can i ask my old employer to run payroll after getting a new project?.
Please suggest.
Thanks
Krishna

[shervin143]

You cannot stay in U.S without getting paid while you are in H1B status. You are considered out of status on H1B if you do not have payslips. A transfer to any other employer will need to be a bridge petition at this time since you already started working for employer B and you received at least 1 month pay from them. But a transfer is not possible when you are out of status. If employer B's petition gets denied or if they withdraw their application, then your transfer will be in jeopardy. You cannot go back to your previous employer now and they cannot and should not run your payroll. If you want to go back to your previous employer, you have two options

1) Leave the country and return back using employer A's petition.
2) Employer A should file a transfer from B to A. But that is kind of not possible since you are out of status.

[sharma_im]

You cannot stay in U.S without getting paid while you are in H1B status. You are considered out of status on H1B if you do not have payslips. A transfer to any other employer will need to be a bridge petition at this time since you already started working for employer B and you received at least 1 month pay from them. But a transfer is not possible when you are out of status. If employer B's petition gets denied or if they withdraw their application, then your transfer will be in jeopardy. You cannot go back to your previous employer now and they cannot and should not run your payroll. If you want to go back to your previous employer, you have two options

1) Leave the country and return back using employer A's petition.
2) Employer A should file a transfer from B to A. But that is kind of not possible since you are out of status.

Shervin - Will it be considered as a bridge petition even if you have a valid I94? I am in a similar situation so thought I'd ask.

[shervin143]

Yes.

Shervin - Will it be considered as a bridge petition even if you have a valid I94? I am in a similar situation so thought I'd ask.

[sharma_im]

Yes.

I'm sorry did not clarify myself in my last post. Valid I-94 and I am getting paid while on bench (probably means I am not out of status). Will this still be a bridge petition?

Thanks Shervin for the answer.

[shervin143]

Can you be more specific? Who is your current employer (A or B?)? Do you have an approved H1B petition and I-94 with the employer you are working now? Or did you begin working for Employer B based on their receipt notice and are you trying to file another transfer to C now. Hard to answer without knowing the details.

I'm sorry did not clarify myself in my last post. Valid I-94 and I am getting paid while on bench (probably means I am not out of status). Will this still be a bridge petition?

Thanks Shervin for the answer.

[sharma_im]

Can you be more specific? Who is your current employer (A or B?)? Do you have an approved H1B petition and I-94 with the employer you are working now? Or did you begin working for Employer B based on their receipt notice and are you trying to file another transfer to C now. Hard to answer without knowing the details.

Hi Shervin - I should have been more specific. I work for Employer B now with a receipt notice. Being paid currently while on bench. Transfer (H1B approval for B) is still pending. Got an offer from Company C now. Valid I 94 status till April 2016. Company C is asking for H1b approval notices from Company A, and just the paystubs from Company B to file for an H1. Will C's petition be considered as a bridge petition to B?

[shervin143]

C's petition will need to be a bridge petition since you already started working for B. Company C cannot file a transfer from A C since you no longer work for A. USCIS can easily figure this out of they look up your records. They have to file the transfer from B to C. But since B's petition is still pending, C will need to file the transfer based on B's petition which will make it a bridging petition.

If C files a transfer from A, then your H1B transfer (if approved) will get approved only for consular process (Unless USCIS overlooks your case). Meaning, you cannot work for C until you leave and re-enter using C's petition to get a new I-94 associated with C's petition at the POE.

Hi Shervin - I should have been more specific. I work for Employer B now with a receipt notice. Being paid currently while on bench. Transfer (H1B approval for B) is still pending. Got an offer from Company C now. Valid I 94 status till April 2016. Company C is asking for H1b approval notices from Company A, and just the paystubs from Company B to file for an H1. Will C's petition be considered as a bridge petition to B?