In order to file for the extension or transfer of H-1B visa status, the alien must prove have an extension or transfer petition filed prior to the expiration of the alien's current status and the alien must have maintained status throughout. Maintaining valid status means that the H1B employee must be paid at all times by the petitioning employer.
There are many unfortunate situations which might cause an H-1B visa holder to fall out of status. These situations include those who have done so inadvertently, those who have not been paid by their employers for work done, or those who have filed complaint against their employers and who have subsequently received retaliatory treatment by their employers. H-1B holders are, in many ways, at the whim of the employer and are very vulnerable. That is why Congress has enacted various legislation to protect those workers who had fallen out of status through no fault of their own. Please bear in mind that there are complex legal issues involved in re-instating status to one who, through no fault of his own, had fallen out of status which requires the assistance of competent legal H1b lawyer.
I have seen these issues more frequently recently out of our offices located in Columbus, Ohio and Cleveland Ohio. The same applies for our Washington, DC office. But most frequently, I have had a number of clients visit us in our Michigan offices to also find ways to re-instate their status.
Here are the situations that might occur causing an H1B visa holder to fall out of status thereby restricting his or her ability to change or extend her H1b visa with another employer:
• When H-1B Visa Holder Falls Out of Status Due to Inadvertent Technical Violations:
There are myriad situations where an H-1B visa holder fell out of status through no fault of his. An example of this is where an H-1B visa employee moves from one job to another and the employer fails or neglects to file an H-1B visa transfer petition with the USCIS. Another example I have seen lately, alien moves from job to another unbeknownst to him that the immigration lawyer negligently files an H-1b visa petition requesting consular processing instead of transfer. In both of these scenarios, the employee H-1B visa holder had done nothing to cause this confusion and the fact that he is now out of status. Sometimes, the inadvertence is not discovered for several months after the fact.