variousquestios

Hi,

I am on my F1 OPT right now which expires in Feb 2004. I just got full-time job offer and employer is going to sponsr H1B. I was just wondering, is there any good time slot when I should file I-129?

BCIS's fiscal year is ending in Sept. and H1B quota is going to be reduced after that. Does that quota affect me when I am just applying for COS to H1?

At this moment I plan to file I-129 with premium processing somewhere around Dec 2003. I am afraid if that H1B cap affects me. If it does, then I plan to file it well before end of Sept.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Ingo Pakleppa

On Thu, 08 May 2003 17:47:13 +0000, variousquestios wrote:

    >
    > Hi,
    >
    > I am on my F1 OPT right now which expires in Feb 2004. I just got
    > full-time job offer and employer is going to sponsr H1B. I was just
    > wondering, is there any good time slot when I should file I-129?

You don't file it at all, the employer does. They can file at any time. I
would recommend they file about six months in advance - that would mean,
in September. That way, they can save the $1000 premium porcessing fee,
and you will probably still be able to get your H-1B before your OPT
expires.

Exception: if you plan on leaving the US at any point before you have the
new H-1B, then either wait with filing until you return, or use Premium
Processing so you have the approval notice and can apply for a visa at a
US consulate abroad.

    > BCIS's fiscal year is ending in Sept. and H1B quota is going to be
    > reduced after that. Does that quota affect me when I am just applying
    > for COS to H1?

In theory, it doesn't. But don't worry about it. If it becomes an issue at
all, it won't come up until at least Summer of 2004.

    > At this moment I plan to file I-129 with premium processing somewhere-1
    > around Dec 2003. I am afraid if that H1B cap affects me. If it does,
    > then I plan to file it well before end of Sept.

See above - it won't, but I would file earlier and save the premium
processing in this case.

    > Any help greatly appreciated.
    >
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

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variousquestios

Thanks Ingo.

I understand that employer only files I-129 for employee.

I guess I will do premium processing only(late in Deceber), for 2 reasons.

- It's fast, less headache of waiting for an answer forever.
- While on OPT I will not have to pay social security and medicare taxes. I view them as total waste of my hard earned money because I am not sure if I am going be staying here too long to get any benefits out of it.

By the way, from which point and on SSN and medicare taxes should be deducted from my paychecks? I believe, as soon as I receive H1 approval. Is that right?

variousquestios

If employer wishes to save $1000, I think I will offer to bear that extra $1000 for premium processing.

Ingo Pakleppa

On Thu, 08 May 2003 23:49:59 +0000, variousquestios wrote:

    >
    > Thanks Ingo.
    >
    > I understand that employer only files I-129 for employee.
    >
    > I guess I will do premium processing only(late in Deceber), for 2
    > reasons.
    >
    > - It's fast, less headache of waiting for an answer forever.

A valid point.

    > - While on OPT I will not have to pay social security and medicare
    > taxes. I view them as total waste of my hard earned money because I am
    > not sure if I am going be staying here too long to get any benefits
    > out of it.

A valid point. That, of course, has not much to do with premium processing.

    > By the way, from which point and on SSN and medicare taxes should be
    > deducted from my paychecks? I believe, as soon as I receive H1 approval.
    > Is that right?

Yes.

--
Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I encourage
everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
newsgroups.

Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com with a list of interesting
immigration links.

My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection.

Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my new Web site
http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.

variousquestios

Hi Ingo and Others,

A friend of mine suggested that I should apply for COS to H1b well ahead in time and by any chance, if I don't get approval till close to my OPT expiration date, I can always pay additional $1000 and opt premium processing of my application.

Is this information correct?

Ingo Pakleppa

This sounds like a good strategy. You'll need to apply six months in
advance - else you probably won't get the H-1B in time and might as well
use premium processing right away.

On Fri, 16 May 2003 22:55:09 +0000, variousquestios wrote:

    > A friend of mine suggested that I should apply for COS to H1b well ahead
    > in time and by any chance, if I don't get approval till close to my OPT
    > expiration date, I can always pay additional $1000 and opt premium
    > processing of my application.


--
Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I encourage
everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on usenet
newsgroups.

Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com with a list of interesting
immigration links.

My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection.

Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my new Web site
http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.