F1 to H1B visa Change of Status: Important Points to Consider

The main goal of an international student coming on F1 visa to the United States is to obtain an H-1B visa. H-1B visa is the means to establish yourself financially in the USA and is stepping stone to obtain a green card. Every year's hundreds of students enroll for a student visa to The USA of different countries and from some do make a mark and some have returned back to their country. Returning back to the country is the last option. As many students take huge loan supplement the tuition fees for a college in the United States it becomes imperative for them to anyhow get employment in the USA.

Currently as one is aware of the new policies floated by USCIS for H-1B visa coupled with the recession, it has had a huge impact on international students’ ambitions to settle down in the USA. Changing from opt student jobs to H-1b requires enormous effort in terms of obtaining good grades in academics, applying for EAD well in advance, marketing your profile among employers and one might need shell few dollars if he or she has enrolled with a staffing agency. Changing from F1 to H1B visa can be dicey and it sure pays if one plans everything ahead of time like OPT after graduation and H1B sponsorship.  Let me share with the stringent and meticulous preparation needed to pass the through the process of H-1B transfer jobs in USA.

OPT Job Planning

It is possible that some you might experience in handling such internship by undergoing CPT, and would be planning stage for an OPT job and on the flip side some you might not have had an opportunity to do an internship. Either case one should apply for OPT to be eligible to work after graduation till the time one get an employer who is ready to sponsor your H-1B visa and get the H-1B visa petition filed. One will require to file for an OPT job by filing form I-765 and take help from your International Student Advisor or DSO(Designated School Official) who will generate a new I20 and update SEVIS record about your OPT.

One also needs to pay stipulated fees along with the application for employment authorization. You can apply for OPT up to 90 days before the completion of your graduation. And in case you miss this deadline you have 60 days grace period to apply after the program date. One should not allow oneself to land in such a situation and it highly recommended to file the OPT application before the graduation completion date as the process becomes much complex later on and doubled with anxiety levels you might encounter. Once you file OPT you will get an EAD or OPT card.

OPT Rules to Keep in Mind

When your OPT begins after graduation, under normal circumstances you ought to have a job and technically should in employed status.  On the of the chance that you are jobless, you need to get a new line of work when you can in the territory of your degree. As per prescribed norms, you can just aggregate just as long as 90 days of Unemployment during whole year OPT Period. What it means is, state, for example, you worked for a business for 3 months on OPT and you thought of evolving occupations, at that point you begin looking and change employer, it took you 30 days to secure another position (you didn't work during these 30 days), presently you have utilized 30 days of your 90 Days joblessness period is given by USCIS. Absolutely, you must be jobless for an aggregate of 90 days during your year OPT. In the event that you have a place with a STEM degree and get two years OPT extension, at that point, you get an extra 30 days of joblessness period, which sums to 120 days of joblessness period permitted altogether three years of OPT.

Also Read: How to Apply for F1 to H1B Visa Status Change

Steps involved in F1 to H1B visa Change of Status & Important Points

• The first step towards getting an H1B visa to apply before your F1 grace period expires and obtain a job offer from an employer who is ready to sponsor you and files a petition with USCIS on your behalf. 

• Once you have interviewed by H1B sponsoring company and have got an offer letter from them. It might be possible that the interview might have been taken before the completion of your graduation and started working for the company right after graduation but still without an offer letter from an H1B sponsoring employer, one is not eligible to apply for a change of status from F1 visa to H1B.

• One is required to submit all the necessary documents to H1B sponsoring employer as he has filed your petition to USCIS and that too on time.

• If one has completed Masters of Science or MBA from the US that person eligible for H1B advanced degree quota of 20000. Your attorney will file the petition under this category or general category.

• Once you have got the job offer from an employer once needs to communicate with your immigration attorney at the firm that is filing your petition and make sure they file the application as Change of Status (COS).

• The petitions for H1b visa can be filed starting from 1st April of each financial year. The visas are decided by a lottery system. Many employers are not aware of the deadlines so one should remind them of it as it has been observed that sooner your file the petition better are chances of one getting shortlisted.

• Once you file for an H1B visa petition, you will get an H1B visa receipt notice from USCIS. You can check its status on USCIS.gov.

• USCIS processed your application on the basis of sooner the better and it might take anywhere from few weeks to a couple of months. It depends on the number of petitions filed.

• If your employers need your earlier to work on their job they may go for premium processing option in such scenario one get the petition processed by 15 business days.

• One receives an update online from USCIS after your H1B petition is processed and intimates the employer about the decision. Hopefully, you get the approval notice. Generally, your H1B visa term starts from October and your status stands converted to H1B from F1 Visa automatically.

Also Find: Hiring OPT CPT Candidates

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.

I compiled this information for the benefit of international students pursuing graduation in various educational institutions across the United States. I hope this helps.

To continue your educational journey, these additional resources will be helpful:


For more information about opt for international students | cpt internship | When to File H1B Extension? please visit the OPTnation website.