A Little More Info on H1-B Visas

A colleague more in the know about immigration issues reports the following:

H-1B holders who lose their jobs (voluntarily or otherwise) have 30 days after leaving their employer to find another employer willing to take them on and file the small mountain of paperwork that the government requires. Otherwise, one could be considered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be "out of status" and subject to deportation.

Ex-H-1B holders who fall out of status don't seem to be ICE's top priority, but who knows.

Belo had an immigration attorney put together the original H-1B paperwork for folks in Al Dia who needed that assistance to be able to work in the U.S. That attorney was Harry J. Joe, now with the Winstead law firm in Dallas. While Mr. Joe still handles immigration matters for the company, the relationship ends when a staffer departs the paper.

Mr. Sunbeam is advised that The DMN will probably hand an immigration folder to anyone who departs the company. I'd doublecheck with Human Resources about this.

An outside attorney who might help is Liz Cedillo-Pereira. Her number is 214-981-9442. You will have to check with her to determine any potential charges for her consultation.

This is from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website and gives some detail on switching employers, or what happens when you reach the end of your six-year status as an H-1B holder. In general, you need to switch status, or depart.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/H1B_FY04_Characteristics.pdf