Once the H1B beneficiary is lawfully admitted to the US, and has started working for the petitioning employer, any qualifying US employer can file for the transfer of H1B status holder in the United States. Such transfers are not subject to the annual quota cap.

To be eligible for such change of employer, the foreign national should be currently on H1B status, i.e., should be employed by the current employer subject to the terms and conditions under which they obtained the H1B status.

The Petition process is the same as an initial H1B Petition, except for checking appropriate boxes on the Petition for change of status and giving the foreign national’s documentation of current status.

However, please note the cap-subject/cap-exempt rules still apply. That is, for an alien who is currently employed by a cap-exempt employer wishing to transfer to a non-exempt (i.e., cap-subject) employer, the quota cap will apply. This means that the Petition can be filed only on April1st under the current circumstances.

For answers to frequently asked questions, click here.