H1B Extension and H1B Transfer: which holds good

[loku]

Hello,

I am working on H1-B for sometime. My project ended 2 months ago and I had been on unpaid leave since then. My H1-B expires on Sep 30, 2009. My company applied for H1-B extension in June but got a RFE due to lack of evidence. My company replied to the RFE on Aug 28. and status has been pending since then. On Sep 19, I got an offer from another company. The new company filed for premium processing for H1-B transfer and her transfer application got approved with starting date of September 24. I joined the new company on Sep 29 but haven't notified her old employer yet.

My immigration is underway and has got an approved I-140 from previous employer. That is the reason I didn't notify them as I don't want to stop that process. It is my intention to move back to her old employer if the visa extension is approved and the current project is finished so that I doesn't have to refile her Green card.

Now the question is what will happen in these scenario and purportedly 'Last Action rule' of USCIS:

1) If my Visa extension gets accepted, which VISA will hold good, the H1 ext with original employer or H1-B transferred visa with new employer ? Where should I report for work and is there anything legally I need to do before I reports to any of them ?

2) If my Visa extension gets rejected, will my transferred VISA still hold good ? Will I need to do anything in that scenario i.e. need to go out of country and get her Visa stamped ?

Thanks for your help and time. Please advice!!
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[sk4ih]

Only H1 transfer comes into effect. No need to worry if H1 extn is denied.

GC process can be continued even if you're not working for that employer. Alternatively new employer can also start GC with same priority date.

[loku]

But what if my H1-B entension is approved. Can I move back to my old employer ? More importantly, what if my H1-B extension is denied. According to 'last action rule' the last action of USCIS takes precedence and H1 extension decision will be last one.

[txh1b]

Last action rule does not apply to the same status and your case.

[loku]

thanks txh1b and sk4ih for your answers.

One last question, if my H1-B extension is approved, can I report back to my previous employer without needing to transfer visa again ?

[sk4ih]

Yes.