Can I Get a New Job While Working with an Immigration Visa?

If you’ve started working in the United States with a work visa, but the role was not what you expected, you might be wondering if you can apply for another job. Our Orange County immigration attorneys explain if switching jobs will affect your immigration status.

Is My Visa or Green Card Tied to My Current Employer?

The employment-based immigration sponsorship process is often long and complicated. For such reasons, employees often think that they are stuck with the job they originally applied for when they submitted their employment visa application. However, immigration law does allow you to apply and accept a “same or similar” job so that it doesn’t affect your employment status.

For example, if you are currently working in the United States with an H-1B visa, you can seek new employment if you request an H-1B Transfer. You will need to file a new H-1B visa petition once you've accepted a new job offer. Although this may seem like a hassle, it will be a much easier process since you were already approved for an H-1B visa before. You can request an H-1B visa at any time, and you can begin working at your new job once you have a receipt notice that they received your petition for a new visa from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)-- even if they haven’t approved your request yet.

Seek Legal Guidance

Requesting yet another work visa can seem like a tedious process. Although it should be easier the second time around, you should still have legal guidance. You want to make sure that you file out the application correctly and that you have all the necessary documents to increase your chances of getting your application approved.

Get in touch with our team today at (949) 478-4963 to schedule a consultation!