L1 to H1 COS (Approved H1B visa but never used)

[allenantony]

Dear all,

I have an H1B visa which got approved in June 2009 (for Consular Processing) and valid until September 2012. Eventhough it was approved, I couldnt utilize the H1B visa due to the financial crisis and the job insecurity due to recession during the 2009 - 2010 period.

I am currently here in US on L1 visa and would like to know if I can utilize my approved Visa for another company who is ready to hire me. This company is not the original company who sponsored my H1B visa in 2009. Will there be any issues with the CAP as this Visa was approved in 2009 and hasnt used yet? Do you think there will be any issues from the USCIS in this change of status / change of employer process?

Any help you could please provide will be greatly apprecited as I am a lot confused and dont know how to proceed. Thanks for your help in advance.

Regards
Allen

[shervin143]

No issues. Any U.S employer can file a new H1B petition on your behalf using the CAP from the old H1B petition and request an immediate start date. Give the new employer a copy of your previous H1B approval notice. You cannot work for the new employer until the COS from L1 to H1B gets approved. Once the COS gets approved (H1B approval with a new I-94), you can no longer work for the L1 employer. If you have to serve a notice period, then ask the H1B sponsor to file the petition with a future start date.