change of status or consular processing-F1 OPT to H1B
my employer is filing the H1B petition for me. can someone help me with which route to take- consular processing or change of status(COS). pls answer this keeping in mind the following- if my H1B is picked, i want to switch my company as soon as possible.
if i go for COS, h1b kicks in on oct1st; in this case would companies interview me (without asking me to go to India and get the h1b stamped) and then the interviewing company would get my h1b transferred or would they ask me to go get h1b stamped first and only then take the case forward. say, if it interviews(without asking me to get my h1b stamped) amd then gets my h1b transferred from the existing employer, would i face any issue when i go back to India to get it stamped(because the original H1B was done by my previous employer which I will have left by then)
Same question in case of consular processing?
kindly clarify.
comments
You can use any currently valid petition when you apply for a visa. You can't get a visa based on a pending transfer. Once the transfer is approved, the new petition will be just as valid as the old one was, so you won't have any problem using it for stamping.
IMO the best strategy is to apply for COS now, stay long enough to get a couple of paychecks from the new company in H-1B status, then ask the new employer to file a consular petition in premium processing. When it's approved, then you can quit your current job and go for stamping. This avoids the need to take any time off for stamping - you'll be doing it between jobs.