Is the US H1B visa only valid for one employer organization?

June 7, 2010 8:13 AM

I am currently working in the USA on a J-1 "Cultural Exchange" visa. It expires early next year and my host organization, a non-profit, has expressed that they'll be happy to sponsor me on an H1B visa before then. My question is: would the terms of the H1B visa mean that I'd be tied down to working for this one organization for the duration? Or once awarded the visa would I then be able to search for a position at another organization?

Anonymous if possible please because I have colleagues that use this site regularly.

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (8 answers total)

Yes, it is possible. I have not done this but I know people who have. The H1B visa rules require you to have a position but it does not have to be at the sponsoring organization. I do not know but suspect that there is a minimum time that you'd have to work at the sponsoring organization unless let go by that organization; what I do know is that you're not tied to it for the full duration.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 8:16 AM on June 7, 2010

You need to work for the host institution sponsoring you for an H1-B throughout the application/consideration/approval process. There are exceptions to this, you would need to look those up. INS website has tons of information on it. Once you have your visa, you may change institutions freely. In fact, that's stipulated so that host institutions cannot take advantage of immigrants by holding the visa status over their heads. Sometimes your visa may be dependent on you staying at a certain type of institution (academic, medical, non-profit, etc.).

Many J-1 visas have a two year home residency requirement before the holder is eligible for an H1-B. If that is the case, then your visa will say "two year rule applies." If not, it will say "two year rule does not apply." It is supposed to say something about it, though. If needed, you can apply for a waiver of the two year rule from your own home country. That can take some time, so look that up and act on it soon.
posted by copperbleu at 8:47 AM on June 7, 2010

Actually, it is also possible to transfer the H1-B application to another host institution during the application/consideration/approval process. It's just a bit more complicated. Sorry about the confusion.
posted by copperbleu at 8:48 AM on June 7, 2010

Have them process everything through a reputable immigration lawyer with experience.

copperbleu already touches upon the key issue between a J-1 transfer and an H1B. Once you have the H1B - you can transfer employers along with the transfer of H1B as mentioned but if they apply during this time for a green card for you, then you are bound to the employer at minimum until you reach the end of the process, which could take up upto 5 years depending on your country of origin and the regional processing office.
posted by infini at 9:38 AM on June 7, 2010

Also if your sponsoring organization fires you or lays you off, and you don't already have another employer willing to undertake the time and expense of an H1B transfer, you have 10 days.
posted by infini at 9:39 AM on June 7, 2010

Not sure ... you have to be careful, the non-profit H1-Bs work differently from the regular H1-Bs from what I remember. The regular H1-Bs allow you to move around freely between different corporations willing to sponsor your visa. The non-profit ones are more restricted from what I recollect.

Get in touch with a good immigration attorney, this is pretty basic stuff and they should be able to answer this question easily. Immigration laws tend to change quite a bit.
posted by the_ancient_mariner at 9:49 AM on June 7, 2010

Since your H-1b employer is the petitioner rather than you, the status belongs to them rather than you. It's similar to how you are currently participating in your sponsor's J-1 program rather than them providing their program to you. You could feasibly find another petitioner (employer), but you will have to have that lined up before you jump ship.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 1:13 PM on June 7, 2010

To expand on what the_ancient_mariner said.

There is an annual cap on the number of H1B visas issued. Some organizations (like universities for example) are exempt from that cap. If your H1B visa is sponsored by an cap exempt organization then you cannot transfer to another organization that is not cap exempt. This means you couldn't go work for a typical corporate employer. I don't know if your non-profit is cap exempt, but if it is, then you would only be able to transfer to another cap exempt employer. Lastly, assuming you can transfer, then it's not for free. At least in the case transfer between non cap exempt employers it could cost your new employer $2.5~$3K for the legal work & fees.
posted by Long Way To Go at 2:26 PM on June 7, 2010