Office of International Education

Employment Issues For H-1B Workers

Transfer of Employers

H1B employees may change employers. A new H1B application must be filed with the USCIS before the employee can move from one job to another. If an H1B employee is moving from another employer to Carnegie Mellon, the scholar should carefully coordinate the transfer and move with the department. Further, scholars are invited to call the H1B Foreign Scholar Advisor in OIE to clarify details and timing, and to confirm the filing of the H1B petition prior to moving to Pittsburgh and/or beginning employment at CMU.

If the H1B employee is moving directly from one employer to another, and was in H1B status immediately before changing jobs, the H1B petition need only be received by the USCIS for the transfer to occur; neither employer nor employee is required to wait for the H1B Approval Notice prior to transfer. However, the Receipt Notice from the USCIS is required prior to new employment at CMU; it usually takes 2 to 4 weeks for the Receipt Notice to arrive from the USCIS.

Extension of H1B Status

To extend H1B status for continued employment, the employer must file a new H1B application with support materials and including the LCA to the USCIS prior to the expiration of the current H1B status. The extension is generally completed 1 to 6 months in advance of the expiration of the current H1B.

An H1B employee who was previously approved to work at CMU in H1B status and who has filed a timely application for extension may continue to work for pay during the period (if any) that the previous H1B has ended and before the new, extension H1B has been approved. Neither employer nor employee is required to wait for the H1B Approval Notice prior to continued employment. If the case has been timely filed, the OIE Advisor can provide a letter of explanation addressed to the Payroll Office, if needed, for continued employment.

Multiple Employers

Also called "concurrent employment," an H1B employee may be employed by more than one employer at a time. However, all employers are required to file an H1B petition on behalf of the employee. The H1B petition need only be received by the USCIS for the concurrent employment to begin; neither employer nor employee is required to wait for the H1B Approval Notice prior to start of concurrent employment. However, the Receipt Notice from the USCIS is required prior to new employment at CMU; it usually takes 2 to 4 weeks for the Receipt Notice to arrive from the USCIS.

Example: A full-time H1B employee is working in private industry in Pittsburgh. An academic department at CMU would like to hire this person to teach one course for one term. In this case, CMU will file a "concurrent H1B application" including a new H1B application with support materials and the LCA prior to the start of concurrent employment.

Last Updated On: September 5th, 2006