H1B Job Change before Renewal

[Mutyo051026]

Hello everyone,

Currently, I am in the third year of my H1B visa which expires in October 2021. I've been looking for a new employer to work for for a while, and even though I don't have any job offers from other companies yet, I would like to be prepared for the situation where I get a job offer within a few months from now. I haven't talked with the current employer about the visa renewal yet, but I know they are most likely willing to renew my visa, and I am assuming that the company will start renewal process in around April.

There are two specific scenarios that I am concerned about:

[Scenario 1]
I get a job offer from a new employer before April (before the current employer starts the renewal process). In this scenario, I am not sure how the H1B "transfer" and renewal will work out. Can they be processed at the same time? Or since it's close to the expiration date, is it impossible to transfer my H1B visa to a new employer?

[Scenario 2]
I get a job offer from a new employer between April and October (after the current employer starts the renewal process but before the current visa expires). I am assuming that the renewal application will be accepted by USCIS. In this scenario, can the new employer process the visa transfer while the current employer working on visa renewal?

I know this is not the best time to look for a new employer, but I decided to move on after taking some time to think about it, so I would really appreciate your input and advice about the two scenarios that I mentioned above.

Thank you.

[rkk09]

Hi,
Here is my response.
Scenario 1: Answer: H1B transfer and Extension is two different petition. You can do H1B transfer any time if you have I-94 validity. It will not impact your H1B Ext petition too. But, When you get approval of any of the petition, It is really recommended to withdraw other H1B petition that you are not going to consider.
Scenario 2: Answer: Yes. As I stated already, you can have multiple H1B petition to be filed. But, you will need to finalize which H1B petitioner you are going to confirm. Once you confirm one H1B sponsor and accept the offer, you may deny rest of the offers and ask them to withdraw H1B petitions that will be filed for you.
Thanks