I am currently working on an H-1B professional visa and want to change jobs right away. Can I?

-- Emilia Serra (woosterapple@aol.com), November 21, 2001

Answers

New regulations permit a noncitizen already in H-1B status to begin work with a new H-1B employer as soon as the new application is filed, rather than after approval of the new petition, as was formerly the rule. If you are in a real hurry, the application could probably be filed within a week for a job in Connecticut.

However, there is some risk to changing jobs while your new application is still pending: if your new application is denied, you will be out of status. Under the current law, that is a significant problem.

If you can afford it, a good option is to pay for INS Premium Processing. Premium Processing costs $1000 and usually results in a decision in less than two weeks. Once you are approved, you can change jobs without risk. Regular processing takes about three months.

-- Michael Boyle (boylelaw@aol.com), November 21, 2001.