Discussion Topics:
FAQs: Staying outside the US on Re-Entry Permit Validity, Usage, and Multiple Entries for Green Card Holders || Unemployment Benefits for H-4 + EAD Holders with Previous H-1B employment
Topics Discussed:
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mmigration.com, Law Offices of Rajiv S. Khanna PC, US Immigration Attorney
FAQs:
1. Can I volunteer with a Non-Profit while on any temporary visa (for example, F-1 OPT)?
2. Options after layoff on approved EB-1 - Compelling circumstances EAD and GC EAD conversion
3. NIW I-485 rejected: Refiling options and priority date usage?
I am on OPT, which started on 19th February 2024. I joined my first job on OPT on 8th July 2024 and lost one attempt at the H1B lottery. I work for a research foundation, and they can sponsor me for an H1B-exempt visa. I have a degree in computer science, and I ultimately want to work in corporate America, which means I need to get an H1B cap-subject visa.
My question is whether I should get this H1B exempt visa through my current organization or if I should try to switch to a different company and use my remaining two attempts at the lottery. I ask this because once I get the H1B exempt visa and change my status from F1 to H1B, I won’t be able to switch to a for-profit organization and would be stuck in H1B exempt visa category. H1B-exempt visa jobs are less and pay less. And though the option of an H1B concurrent visa is there but I feel in reality, it will be challenging to get a company to allow me to work for another company due to NDA requirements and also allow part-time work. (But I would appreciate your advice on this since you must have had client experience.)
Can you advise me on how to get the H1B exempt visa now? Does it have any advantage, given I want to transition to a corporate company? What options will I have if I switch to a for-profit organization? Also, I am currently funded through a grant, and it has runway till July 2026.
I have seen people saying not to get an H1B exempt visa as you will be stuck in that category, but I also feel that any H1B visa will be better than F1.
If you have the opportunity to get an H-1B cap-exempt visa through a research foundation, you should take it. Having cap-exempt H-1B status does not prevent you from continuing to apply for the regular H-1B lottery.
Additionally, you can hold both a cap-exempt and a cap-subject H-1B concurrently as long as you maintain your cap-exempt job. If you win the H-1B lottery through a for-profit employer, you can easily switch to a regular H-1B.
Taking the cap-exempt route ensures immediate work authorization and does not limit future opportunities. The idea that you’ll be "stuck" in cap-exempt status is incorrect.
FAQs: New 5% remittance tax bill for non-US citizens: Will it pass and are non-citizens eligible for tax credit?|| Will admitting to an unsuccessful job search affect my B-2 visa extension approval?
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2026.
USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2026 H-1B cap. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions filed to:
USCIS denied an L-1A (filed by the corporate counsel) because the buyer was not considered to be an executive/manager. She was not supervising any personnel. We were retained to refile the case. We won the case by showing that though she did not have supervisory responsibility; she was an executive level employee.
We were able to obtain a series of L-1A approvals despite earlier denials. We showed through substantial evidence that a franchise operation may qualify for L-1 visas.
We obtained an L-1A for the director of a consulting company ("think tank") that interprets the impact of political events on financial markets and keeps institutional investors informed on U.S. and world events.
We obtained an L-1 transfer for the president of a company where the company, after one year of operation underwent a structural change impacting the relationship between the company abroad and the company in the U.S. There were some complex issues of ownership and control. We successfully transferred the beneficiary to a new company that was spun off through the structural change .
We obtained an L-1 for the owner of a company where the USCIS posed an objection that the company had only one employee and a team of consultants. We were able to obtain approval, nonetheless.
We obtained a start up L-1 for the president and owner of a company opening a chain of grocery stores. Though the foreign related company had an unrelated business, our firm was able to justify why the beneficiary needed to be transferred to the U.S. to start up the new, unrelated business.
Discussed: FAQ on Requirements for Extension of H-1 beyond 6 years; applying for visa from third country (TCN); after getting green card, how soon can I change jobs; birth certificate problems; H-4 EAD COS pending; File green card while on H-4; H-4 EAD - Can we own our business? Do we have to run own payroll? And Applying for H-1 visa; US options for Canadian; applying H-1 through multiple employers; EB-5 for ; dentist; affidavit of support; EB-2 with 10 years of experience; EB-5 buy existing business; error on EAD; ; E-2 visa; priority date carry over; L-1A org chart, etc.
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We have just received our first H-1 quota receipt notice. That indicates the H-1 lottery is concluded.
December 23, 2025
The Department of Homeland Security has finalized regulations that fundamentally change how H-1B cap registrations will be selected, effective for the FY 2027 lottery (registration opening around March 2026). Under the new weighted selection process, registrations for higher-paid workers will have significantly better chances of selection than those for lower-paid workers.
Release Date
12/23/2025
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security is amending regulations governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation of visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers. The new rule replaces the random lottery for selecting visa recipients with a process that gives greater weight to those with higher skills.
Published by: Financial Express - January 8, 2026
https://www.financialexpress.com/business/investing-abroad-my-h-1b-approved-but-stuck-in-a-34-month-queue-attorney-shares-legal-fixes-for-missing-form-i-824-4100306/
Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:
Although precise dates and processes for this year are not yet clear, we recommend planning and initiating the H-1B lottery registration now to ensure it is ready to submit when registrations open in March 2026.