Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

It seems that you are out of status, if you changed fom H4 to H1B, continue residing in USA, but never worked for your H1B employer.

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Lucky for you that you can port to a new employer after filing the petition (by a new employer), however it is somewhat gray what the government will do with your case once filed. The petition could be approved, but it's not guaranteed that the change of employer would be approved. Maintenance of status is not required to file an H-1 porting petition. Of course, your status must not be expired before making that application. A more liberal approach is being taken by the government as a result of the soft economy such that H-1 employees are given the opportunity to port to a new employer, but they won't fully commit to approve without exception when there has been a violation of status. This policy could change at any time as it's not governed by any statute or even regulation.

The above is information and not legal advice nor does it form an attorney client relationship. For further information, call me at 818 609 1953 or email me at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Alice Yardum-Hunter, Attorney at Law, Certified Specialist, Immigration & Nationality Law

State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization

Technically you are out of status. Even if you get a new job offer and apply for extension of status/change of employer you will need to show that you are in a valid H1 status. This is usually done by showing recent pay stubs.

You mentioned entering the country on an H4 Visa. I would suggest that you change your status back to H4, provided that your spouse is still in a valid H1 status. This would allow you to stay in the US legally. Once you find another job your new employer can file an H1 petition on your behalf.