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H4 to h1b

Discussion in 'H4 Indian Ladies' started by Mittai, Aug 17, 2012.

  1. Mittai

    Mittai New IL'ite

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    Hi.

    My DH got H1B visa. I have got H4 visa.I thought I will go as a dependent and later convert my H4 to H1B visa. I have 5+ yrs of exp in my field and I heard there are many openings for my skill set.

    But suddenly one of friend in office is saying that its not possible to convert my H4 to H1B visa. SHe said that the US consulate will reject if I try to convert latter since I initially preferred to travel as a dependent and now trying to work in US. Is this true?? Please help me, I am so confused right now!! :drowning
     
  2. hivid

    hivid Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Mittai,
    One of my friends has gone as a dependent and has now applied for H1. She is quite hopeful about getting it to..Some consultancy is sponsoring her visa I guess. I am not from the US but I am sure she has done something of this sort.All the best.
     
  3. bujji_1522

    bujji_1522 Silver IL'ite

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    Hi Op,

    You need to be on H4 for atleast 6th months...after 6months you have to search for a job and a consultancy who can sponsor your H1 visa(before the quota period ends for the year) then you would be able to work. You cant transfer the visa from H4 to H1 without somebody sponsoring it.

    -Good luck
     
    anika987 likes this.
  4. Ranchu

    Ranchu Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Hi Mittai,

    No your friend is wrong. It is possible to convert from H4 to H1. But you need to understand the whole process.

    H1 applications are allowed only from April 1 of every year. They will accept applications until the total number of allowed Applications limit has reached. After that you need to wait for next year.
    If you come to US tomorrow then you need to wait till April 2013.

    Hope you understand this and search for jobs accordingly. Good Luck !
     
  5. crazymom

    crazymom Gold IL'ite

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    You can convert your Visa from H4 to H1 as long as your employer is ready to sponsor you. There are two types of employers- Private companies (For-profit) and Non-profit organizations.

    If you find job in a non-profit organization and they are ready to sponsor you then you can convert your H4 to H1 anytime in the year and start working from the next day.

    For the companies, you have to apply under the H1B cap for particular Fiscal Year. Generally USCIS accepts application in the month of April and if your visa gets approved then you can start working next August. Your employer must be willing to wait until that time.

    Some consultant companies (mostly Indian) will hire you but you may be working for third party and may have to pay some percentage of your salary to the consultancy firms. The job can be based on the project and job length depends on the project. You may be working for 6 months and sitting home for few months until you find next project and you may even have to relocate.

    Choose your employer wisely. All the best.
     
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  6. pandusk

    pandusk Gold IL'ite

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    Your friend is incorrect as others said you can convert from h4 to H1, for that you need to apply for COS while the quota is still open, once you get a job your employer should be able to file H1. Thats how I did.
     
  7. Sushmitha23

    Sushmitha23 New IL'ite

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    Hello crazymom (As refered in the username ),

    Myself Sushmitha, I read your post above and I liked the way you have explained things in a detailed manner.
    Therefore I wanted to explain my situation and get some advise from you, it would be great if you could provide some suggestion.

    Earlier, I graduated with my master in Engineering Management and I was working on my OPT and OPT extension for 2 years in US.
    Last year, I moved back to India and I happened to get married.
    Recently, I again happen to move back to US with my Husband and now I am on my H4 Visa.
    I arrived to US a month back thats (Aug 2013), so i was wondering if i happen to find an employer;
    Then when can my employer apply for my Visa ?
    And when can I start to work ?

    Kindly explain.Thank you !!


     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2013
  8. Imblessed

    Imblessed Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi Sushmitha,

    You can work on H1- B as long as you find an employer who sponsors your visa. Every year for H1-B the quota opens in the month of April. You can start working on H1- only in October, if you get H1-B in that year.
    For Ex: If you want to start working from next month on H1-B you cannot do so. You can only start working in the month of Oct 2014, if you get H1-B. To get H1-B you need to find job , company who will sponsor your visa.
    Every year there are only limited seats for H1-B may be 80,000 seats. This limit fills up very quickly. It opens in the month of April and can fill within a month or may be will not fill till 2,3 months. So, for you to be a lucky one of those people, you need to start searching job as early as possible, because it is difficult to find an employer who will sponsor your visa. It is not easy to get job on H4. Small companies do not spend money on visa transfer and for big companies you need prior experience sometimes working in US.
    So as others have suggested here, you need to find consultant. Since you are from Engineering field I guess it will be easy for you to find a consultant. As you have worked on OPT, you can show that experience and may be there will not be problem for you like others because you have experience of working in US.
    Post your resume on job sites and see whether you get any calls or not. Then decide the future action plan. Since its been just a month for you here in US on H4 just chk that rules. I am not aware of those rules, how many months you need to be on H4.
     
  9. sowmyarakesh

    sowmyarakesh Senior IL'ite

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    Hi susmitha,

    Understanding that now you are in us and on H4. So you have two options:
    1. You can strt searching for a consultancy who can sponsor your visa for next year i.e april 2014, but remember the consultancies will be ready to talk to you regarding this process only frm mid jan 2014. And once they are ready to sponsor n your visa is approved you can strt working frm October 2014.
    2. You can directly apply for full time jobs through the job sites an get in touch with the client.However you need prior work exp in us to hit that, but as you have done masters here you have fairly good chances.
    But remember what ever option you follow you can only strt working frm 2014 october. So if you ask me I would suggest you to enjoy your newly married life without any tensions till jan 2014, n then do your homework to find a good consultancy who can sponsor your visa freely. In the mean time you can brush up and update your skills.
    Hope this helps..
     
  10. manjushrish

    manjushrish Junior IL'ite

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    I am on h4. Are these consultants trustworthy? Could anybody give me more info about this?
    thanks in advance :)
     

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