Legal Question in Immigration Law in Missouri

H1-B Change of Employer, need a new H1-B petition ?

I was hired by my boss, PI (Principal Investigator) of the project, to work on his project sponsored by an NIH grant. The grant proposal was submitted thru Company A. My boss, several other guys and I have been working on the project and been officially employed by Company A which has other employees working on other projects. My boss also founded Company B to hold the legal rights of the project outcomes several years ago and it appears as ''Major Subdivision'' in the grant application. Company B has an EIN but has not really had any income or employers so far. The project is running out of grant funds, but my boss found a sponsor for the project. Company B will purchase all the rights/shares of project of Company A. My boss would like to continue to employ us under Company B and continue the project under the name of Company B. Company B will have only 3-4 employers at the beginning. Our physical location and other employment conditions will be the same as before except the name of the employer and that there is a salary increase. Company A sponsored my initial H1-B last year. Question: Does the new employer, Company B, have to file a new/amended H1-B petition for me before I start working for and getting paid by Company B ?


Asked on 3/31/04, 5:23 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Myron Morales Lee Lane Smith LLP

Re: H1-B Change of Employer, need a new H1-B petition ?

Yes, you will need to change your H-1B to company B. If company B does not have any income right now, you can use projected financials. You may also consider investigating whether Company B would be a successor in interest to Company A.

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Answered on 4/01/04, 8:18 am
David Nachman Nachman & Associates, P.C.

Re: H1-B Change of Employer, need a new H1-B petition ?

If it is the plan that you will be paid by company B then you would need to get an H-1B with company B (it may be a new H-1B or a concurrent H-1B). However, another route to go may be to continue on the payroll of company A and lease your services to company B. This way you would not have to get a new H-1B through company B (do pay attention to the ACWIA regulations however if you decide to go this route). Note however that you will need to be on the company A payroll. Too, you could start to work for company B using AC-21 Section 105 portability so you can work for company B when the new or concurrent H-1B is "properly filed."

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Answered on 3/31/04, 10:47 pm


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