H-1B lay off

[SVNJ]

Hello everybody!

I was laid off in the first week of April, 2010. My last pay stub is from April 2010. I was on H1-B visa extension which was based on my I-140 approval. My paspport has an H1-B stamp valid till dec 2012. My employer has withdrawn/cancelled my H1-B. I did not change my status to B-1 or F-1. I kept looking for jobs and now I have found a job and my employer has filed for my H1-B by premium processing. My questions are: when I have my approval, (1) do I just need to go out of the country and come back with a new I-94 wuth my new aproval, if this is the case, can I go to Canada or any other country or do I have to go to the home country (India) or (2) do I have to visit the U.S consulate while I am out of the country and get a new visa stamp (H-1B) on my passport.

Any feedback will be very helpful.

Thank you!

SV

[sk4ih]

Most probably your H1 would be approved with consular processing, as your stay is illegal after you lost job.

1) You have to go to home country.You can use old visa to enter and show new approved H1 for new I-94

[Xkuger]

When you recieve your H1 Approval.. it will also have a I-94 attached to it and you can cut it out and attach it to you old I-94, this in effect will extend your I-94 in line with the new H1.

You do not have to stamp you VISA every time you get a new H1, you can continue to travel with the existing VISA but do need to show your new H1 papers so that sometimes the Immigration officer may stamp a data that is on the approved H1 ( Sometimes they do.. sometimes they just punch the last VISA Date).

Note if you do not intend to travel back and forth outside the country you may never have to get a new VISA stamped.... (specially if you are half way thru GC processing and have no need to travel NOW).

About stamping in Canada / Mexico, remember there is a risk associated with this... for reasons what-so-ever they request for additional evidence to fail to stamp you passport.... your existing VISA maybe cancelled and you will not be allowed back to the US and will have to go to your Home country for stamping.