Question – If my employer applies for H1B Visa in FY 2014 quota, what will be H1B Visa 2014 start date? Can I start working immediately after H1B Visa approval?
H1B Visa 2014 Start Date
Your H1B Visa 2014 start date depends on following factors
- Is your H1 application going to new or transfer?
- Processing Time for USCIS
New H1B Visa 2014 Start Date
USCIS will start accepting H1B Visa FY 2014 application from April 1, 2013.
The official H1B Visa filing dates 2014 starts on April 1, 2013.
But, the date when you can actually start working will be on or after October 1, 2013.
Scenario 1:
- H1B Visa 2014 Filing Date – April 1, 2013
- H1B Application Acceptance Date – Few days after April 1, 2013
- Processing Type – Premium
- H1B Visa Approval Date – April 20, 2013
- H1B Visa 2014 Start Date – October 1, 2013 (typical)
You cannot start working right after H1B approval.
You have to wait till actual H1B Visa 2014 quota start date, which will be listed in H1b Approval Notice – I797.
Scenario 2:
- H1B Visa 2014 Filing Date – April 1, 2013
- Processing Type - Regular
- H1B Visa Approval Date – June 15, 2013 (assumption)
- H1B Visa 2014 Start Date – October 1, 2013 (typical)
Scenario 3:
- H1B Visa 2014 Filing Date – April 1, 2013
- Processing Type - Regular but RFE issued
- H1B Visa Approval Date - Can vary depending on USCIS processing, employer response time to RFE.
- H1B Visa 2014 Start Date - October 1, 2013 or Later
Above 3 scenario is based on H1B Visa 2014 predictions.
If H1B visa quota is open till September 2013 and employer files your application like September 25, 2013.
Your H1B Visa 2014 start date will be after October 1, 2013 based on USCIS H1B processing time (say end of Oct for premium processing)
Cap Exempt H1B
If your H1B Visa is cap exempt, there are no restrictions with start date like H1B visa that comes under Cap.
With cap exempt H1B, you can apply for H1B visa at any time and start working right after H1B Visa approval comes through from USCIS , depending your current status.
Hope this answers you question on H1B Visa 2014 start date. Good luck with your new job.
Do you have any additional questions about H1B Visa start dates, processing time, approval time, filing dates?
my attorney said he will be filing my H1 on “March 29, the first day the government allows us to file”.
but i saw that USCIS allows all petitions from April 1.
did my attorney mean he will start sending on 29 so that it reaches by april 1st, I am a little confused, I hope he doesn’t send on 29 and get em rejected. Please shed some light on this.
If my H1b petition goes through and gets approved around June for example, do i have to go straight away to get stamping at a US embassy? I didnt know if the cap was controlling approved h1b visas or visas that have been given by the embassy?
Some of your information is a little off. For example, an H1-B that is exempt from the cap can only be what you have called a “transfer”. It is not a transfer, but a new visa that is called “portable”. You must be working under an existing H1-B in order to qualify. In that case, the candidate may start work as soon as the petition is filed – there is no requirement to wait until it is approved.
Thanks for the update. This post was written for someone who is filing H1B for the first time and currently in not working visa status. I updated the article.