How to Apply for F1 to H1B Visa Status Change
Get a Job Offer from an H1B Sponsoring Employer
The primary step is to apply for an H1B visa status before your F1 grace period expires and acquires a job offer from an employer who sponsors H1B visa for you to work in his company. The employer should have a good track record of financial status and a good reputation as an employer and in the industry and should be able to assure USCIS that they would be paying 95% of the principal the wage of the occupation to the applicant.
Applying for H1B status
USCIS has made some restrictions on the number H1B visa that can be issued in a fiscal year. These restrictions do not allow USCIS to give more than 65000 visas under the general category. However, if the applicant possesses a Master’s degree, Doctoral degree or higher then extra 20000 visa slots are available for them.
So it is advisable to submit the applications in time sooner the better so one does not miss out on limited the number of quotas.
Also, Read: F1 to H1B visa Change of Status: Important Points to Consider
Have your employer file the H-1B petition
Ask your employer to file the H-1B petition as soon as you are offered a job with them. You can get an H-1B visa only when the petition filed by them, the USCIS will grant you a visa.
Apply for a Cap-Gap extension
Once you have applied for H-1B visa status change and is pending one can apply for a cap-gap extension where one is allowed to remain in the USA on F1 visa. Once you get H-1B visa F1 visa automatically expires.
Travel during Cap-Gap extension
An Employment Authorization The document, or EAD, is issued by USCIS to approve remote nationals to work in the US for a little timeframe, for the most part, one year. On the off chance that after the fulfillment of OPT, an applicant having the EAD wishes to go outside, they can do as such and afterward, return back to the US after transitory nonattendance.
In any case, the EAD is esteemed terminated under a cap-gap extension. For this situation, in the event that they travel outside the nation, they would not have the option to come back with an F1 status. In such an occasion, they would need to apply for an H1B visa independently before coming back to the United States. What's more, once the affirmed H1B request marks the calendar, the competitors would not have the option to enter the nation before that.
When to file for H-1B extension?
USCIS lets you apply for H1B visa extension 6 months before the expiration. What it means is, let’s say your H1B visa is expiring October 1st, 2018 then you can apply your visa petition any time after April 1st, 2018.
If one follows the above process to transition from OPT status to H-1B status would be pretty smooth.
To continue your educational journey, these additional resources will be helpful:
How to Apply for F1 to H1B Visa Status Change
Hiring OPT CPT Candidate - Jobs in Boston
