H-1b visa is a good initiative for people with extraordinary abilities. It is a kind of appreciation for their commendable qualities. By this opportunity, immigrants can enhance their abilities in their particular field as they get more experience in the US. Besides being the most famous US immigrant visa, it keeps giving a lot of benefits to the immigrants. Its processing rules and regulations change year by year.
Consular processing is one of the major benefits of the h-1b visa. It makes us apply for the green card lottery and is basically to get the stamp on the visa. There is a set criterion to go for consular processing. Moreover, the applicant doesn’t need to apply for consular processing if they want to change their status. Some conditions decide whether h-1b transfer without consular processing is possible or not.
H-1b Transfer Without Consular Processing Possible?
Another benefit of the H-1b visa is that it doesn’t require consular processing to change the status, activate and transfer by consular processing. So the immigrant is not required to leave the US. Instead, he can do this living in the US.
So yes, it is quite possible but again, there are some limitations and boundaries which person goes out from the US for consular processing. He needs to file for the consular processing if;
- After the I-94 expiry, the previous employer gets the RFE, but the new employer’s name is written on the receipt.
- So in this situation, instead of waiting for the consular processing is preferred.
- The extension of status will be abandoned if the immigrant travels outside the US.
- This is the situation where consular processing becomes mandatory.
Who Is Eligible For Consular Processing?
Not everyone can opt for Consular processing as there is an eligibility criterion set. People who live in the US on temporary visas like F1 or H4 are eligible to apply for consular processing.
If they want to apply in the H-1b lottery, it will be possible with the help of a change of status and consular processing. In this way, the visa will be stamped outside the US. The primary reason behind applying is the pending extension of H1-b from the previous employer.
H-1b Consular Processing Steps:
- Filing Form I-140 with the USCIS is the first step of consular processing.
- It is basically the request for processing.
- After the form I-140 is approved, NVC receives the applicant’s approval notice from the USCIS.
- On this, the applicant will receive the fee bill for further processing.
After payment, the NVC guides the applicant about all the required documents and forms.
Following are the documents that must be submitted,
- Form DS-160 is the online immigration visa application.
- Uploading the photo, which is exactly according to the required format.
- The next step is scheduling the interview, which is done at the embassy or consular office in the person’s homeland. The interview can take a long time based on the visa category and many other factors, it is better to get it processed earlier.
- The applicant will pay the fee and gather all the required documents before leaving for the interview.
- The interview will decide whether the person is eligible for the visa or not, so the applicant should be extra efficient in this process.
Advantages Of Consular Processing:
Consular processing has various benefits. Let’s discuss a few of them.
- Firstly, we can determine our H-1b activation date.
- Secondly, it is the best option when filing for the adjustment of status from H4 to H-1b or F1 to H-1b. Although H1-b transfer is possible without consular processing, it can cause issues regarding the I-94.
- Consular processing lets a person go out of the US and come whenever he wants to start work.
- With the help of consular processing, we can continue to work with OPT, H4 EAD, CPT, and L2 EAD as long as we want. It’s an amazing benefit, but it should be filed while filing for the H-1b.
Disadvantages Of The Consular Processing:
Along with benefits, it has some critical disadvantages also.
- The major issue is further inspection in the process of consular processing. Along with this, it has some serious and complicated issues which undermine the immigrant’s possibility of entering the US. E.g., if the person has stayed longer even after the date has passed, he won’t be able to enter the US for 10 years.
- If the applicant thinks there is something wrong, for instance, favouritism, and the consulate has taken the wrong decision by not accepting, then there is no way he can appeal.
- Its processing time is quite slow, and the success rate depends on the particular country. Moreover, concurrent filing is unavailable.
H-1b Consular Processing Change Employer:
Changing employer requires the new employer to file an h-1b petition on the person’s behalf. But the most important thing is that the employer has to do this before the individual’s previous h-1b visa expires. In addition to the petition, the new employer will apply for labour certification.
Moreover, the individual will have to submit all the required documents to the USCIS again, including the employer’s offer letter and recent resume. The person must have his existing h-1b visa before getting into the new one.
Consular Processing H-1b Stamping:
Stamping the visa basically means that the person is now eligible to enter the US. If someone is having his visa, it doesn’t mean he can enter the US. We can say that stamp is the final step for the approval of a person’s entry. H-1b consular processing means that the person can get his visa stamped even outside the US. It is by the US embassy outside the US.
H1-b Consular Processing Approval Notice:
Before applying for any visa, we must know about all the procedures regarding that particular visa. For instance, if we talk about the approval letter of the H1-b consular processing, then it is somewhat different from others. The difference is that if we have got the adjustment of status, then we get the I-94 at the I-797’s bottom, which is the approval letter. For H-1b status activation, the person will need to apply for stamping at the US embassy or consulate.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Can you do an H-1b transfer without stamping?
Yes, it is possible to get the adjustment of status or transfer the h-1b status even without consular processing. Here he can activate his status without leaving the US.
Can transfer h-1b consular processing?
Yes, h1-b status can be transferred. It is by filing for the new petition and the new employer needs to file the new petition on your behalf. But before this, the person should meet all the requirements to be eligible.
How long does h-1b transfer without premium processing?
The H1-b transfer takes about 1 to 4 months without premium processing. Contrary to this, it takes from 30 days with premium processing. Premium processing doesn’t increase the acceptance rate but speed.
Wrap up:
Although we have analyzed the positive aspects of the h-1b transfer, it has various negative points also. So no doubt h-1b transfer without consular processing is possible, but a little mistake can get him into big trouble as it includes a lot of inspections. So the person must go through all of these details before opting for one.
