What is the H-1B visa/status? The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. A "specialty occupation" as one requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field requiring the attainment of a bachelor's degree or its equivalent as a minimum. H-1B status is generally valid for three years and can be extended for an additional three-year period.
Sixty-five thousand H-1B visas, known as the quota, are available each year for individuals with bachelor degrees. The H-1B applications filed by employers, are received by USCIS during the first week of April. Typically, more than 65,000 applications are filed resulting in a lottery to select those applications that will be adjudicated.
*Please note that you must provide copies of ALL your previous I-20's for the H-1B application packet. It is your responsibility to have access to all your I-20's.
If your employer sponsors you for a Change of Status (COS)* to H-1B status, AND the application is selected in the lottery AND approved, the effective date of the COS will be October 1. If you are on OPT that will expire between April 1 and October 1, the government will automatically extend your status (F-1 status) and your work authorization so you can remain in the U.S. and continue working after the expiration of your EAD card. This extension of work authorization is called the Cap-Gap Extension.
*If the H-1B application is filed for visa processing (meaning you will have to leave the U.S. and get the actual visa abroad), rather than for a Change of Status, no Cap-Gap extension is granted. When your OPT expires, you’ll have 60 days to leave the U.S. You will then be able to apply for the H-1B visa at a U.S. consular office. You will be able to return to the U.S. no more than 10 days prior to October 1st.
If your H-1B is approved for COS, you can request a new I-20 from the ISA showing the extension of status and work authorization. (These notations are automatically made to your SEVIS record.) You will not receive a new EAD. On October 1, your status will change to H-1B. Your employer will give you the USCIS Approval Notice of this change of status. The bottom portion of the form will be your new I-94.
Please note that when the H-1B application is filed for a Change of Status, ONLY your status changes. To receive an actual H-1B visa, you must apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the U.S. However, please note that travel during the Cap-Gap extension is not recommended. But if you must travel, you must have a valid F-1 visa, an I-20 showing the Cap-Gap Extension and a travel signature dated within the previous 6 months. It is recommended to email iss@pomona.edu for consultation before any departure during the extension.
If your F-1 visa has expired, renewing the F-1 visa during the extension could be VERY problematic. If you are not able to renew the visa, you would not be able to return to the U.S. The only alternative you would have would be to apply for the H-1B visa which would permit you to enter the country no earlier than September 21 or later and resume work October 1st.
When traveling abroad after October 1, you will have to apply for the H-1B visa before returning. Your employer will give you (when you ask) the necessary paperwork to make the visa application. Please note that actually getting the H-1B visa stamp in your passport is sometimes delayed, requiring that you remain outside the U.S. longer than you expected.
If the H-1B application is denied, revoked or canceled during the extension, you will be advised that you must resign your position immediately and will then have 60 days to leave the country or to receive a new I-20 to enroll in another program.
If your employment is terminated after the change of status, do not mistakenly assume that you can just revert back to being an F-1. Your F-1 status is gone, when you are granted the H-1B status. You are required to leave the U.S. as soon as possible. There is no grace period provided for H-1B status.