On H1B and been laid off ...

[Indyy99]

Hello Sir,

I have been laid off on Jan 4th after working for two years in a dot com company (And our HR director said that would not be reverting my H1, until I find an employer) My present H1 visa with the dot com company is valid till May 2003. At the same time I send my Passport to St Louis for stamping just 20 days back.

1) Will my passport get stamped with out any hassels or would the the INS authorities raise any questions.

2) How many days I have to get a new H1B filed as I have to look out for an employer who can process my H1B visa.

3) Can I fly back to India since my visa is valid until 2003 and later come back to US after 4 months and get my new H1B visa filed.

Pls advise ...

Thanks n Regards,
Roopesh.

[suresh2000]

On H1B and been laid off ...

Roopesh, hope you find another job offer soon.

1). You will have to keep your fingers crossed. If you get your visa stamp, you can use it to travel back to the US, but with have an approved H1. Most attorneys would advise the person to get stamp of new company while coming to the US. But by experience, it is ok to travel with previous company's visa stamp and new H1(with all supporting docs if already started working for the new employer). But, please ask your attorney's advise on this.
Also, in the worst case, no big deal. It is not difficult to get new stamping done at the consulate.

2). There is no timeframe or grace period when the person is out of job on H1. The person is out of status the day he/she is let go. Try to file for new H1 as soon as possible.
Or better still, go back to India and new stamping on new employer's offer and come.

3). For answer to this refer to 1.

Hope this helps and good luck man.