I can't explain how unlucky I am. I had a job offer from company A for a support engineer role which I didn't like. They had applied for H1B cap lottery (which I felt, getting picked in the lottery were very rare). I got an offer for a better role from company B, so I declined the offer from company A and BAMM! my H1B by comp A got picked. My job offer status is already updated to 'Withdrawn'. I am an F1 Post-OPT student and OPT days have not started yet. What should I do? Will I be able to continue in company B just on OPT as if my H1B was never applied? Or since H1B has been picked, will it stop my OPT completely? Need some urgent suggestions.
Just email the recruiter and be honest! Most likely, if they did not have any backup pool of candidates already set up, they’re gonna definitely consider you bcos they wouldnt have to run the entire hiring process again.
Well, even if you email the recruiter and apologize, it might be tough to convince them. I think that company A has to petition your H1B again next year as they already revoked yours this year - which translates to another round of investment on you next year when there is literally no guarantee to them that you would join them. :/ u played it harsh with them and dented the relationship, bud.
They did not revoke the petition it seems. OP says that just the job offer he had applied is currently under the status “withdrawn”
My bad then. He has to act fast before they revoke the h1 petition.
How does a company apply for H-1B even before a candidate has accepted the offer?
Sometimes they have approved LCA’s in the queue which they can re-use. Also, few companies ask their immigration teams to contact the candidate and start the process even before offer negotiations
I feel the chances of the recruiter considering me back for the role is extremely rare. Is it okay if they revoke the lottery picked petition this time? can I ignore this and ask my new employer to file a new petition in the next cycle? (I know getting picked in the lottery is again a matter of luck) Will there be any damage from this revoked petition on my OPT status?
This is unfortunate. Please invest in time with an immigration attorney. Should cost you a couple of hundred or less but it should be worth it. Hang in there bud.
Thanks for your reply. I'm curious wt can be done by talking to an attorney. Because, it's all with the company right? Can't hold them back if they wish to pull back the petition in any way?
Will help you assess the risks should the company decide to revoke the H1B. Will help answer some of your questions such as impact to OPT status. We can plan better once we understand the risks involved, if any.
If comp A doesnt withdraw the application and H1B gets approved try to get approval copy of the notice. You can use that I797 to apply for H1B at Comp B in cap exempt
Great note. I took this route after almost 3 years of getting the 1st H1B visa approval. Company went down after approval.
just email the recruiter and apologize and ask to join? It’s probably just a quick change.