Can I change employer when H1 is in process

[Rahul9876 0]

Hi,

I am on OPT visa right now and my current employer has applied for H1B under premium process. Now I got an offer from other employer with the same domain/profile.

I have few questions here:

1. Can I change my employer right now i.e. before any approval status? If yes, do my current employer readily accept this?

2. Once I get the approval status as YES, can I change employer at that time before getting the H1 visa on hand?

Also is there any other option that I can work for both the employers depending on the situation?

Please advice me on this?

Thanks.

[jan22 3,056]

To clarify one point, you are not on an OPT visa (there is no such thing); you are on an F1 visa doing OPT as the last stage in your studies. Your current status as an employee has no bearing on an H1 visa, i.e., your current employer has no more hold on you for an H1 than any other employer.

The H1 is employer-specific and you can only have one H1 for one employer at any given time. The approval from one cannot automatically be transferred to another. Both employers can file a petition for you, but you can only accept one of them, so the other will likely be angry at having wasted the time/money on the petition for you. IMO, better to decide what position you want, and move forward with that employer filing the appropriate paperwork. If both of these are dependent on getting selected in the H1 lottery, you would, however, double your chances of having one selected (not much of a benefit, really, given the numbers).

Edited April 8, 2016 by jan22