H-1B Portability Under AC21: Grace Period and Bridge Petitions

H-1B portability lets you begin working for a new employer the moment that employer properly files a nonfrivolous H-1B petition on your behalf, or on the start date listed in the petition, whichever comes later. You don’t wait for USCIS to approve the transfer. The right comes from the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), and it continues through the entire time the petition is pending.¹ Three conditions have to be true on filing day, and missing any one of them unravels the transition.

The Three Eligibility Conditions

All three must be satisfied at the moment the new petition is filed:¹

You were lawfully admitted into the United States on your most recent entry, with proper documentation at a port of entry.
Since that last lawful admission, you have not worked without authorization. Even a brief period of unauthorized work disqualifies you.
Your new employer files a nonfrivolous petition before your current authorized stay expires. Nonfrivolous means a real job offer for a genuine specialty occupation, backed by proper supporting documentation.

The first two conditions rest on your own history. The third belongs to your new employer, and timing there is unforgiving. If your I-94 shows an expiration of October 15, the petition must reach USCIS before that date. Filing one day late ends portability and leaves you without work authorization.²

When You Can Actually Start the New Job

You’re authorized to work for the new employer the moment USCIS receives the properly filed petition, or the petition’s requested start date, whichever is later.² No approval needed to start.

USCIS then issues Form I-797C, a receipt notice confirming the filing. That receipt is your proof of authorization, and HR at your new company will need it to complete the I-9 employment verification.³ Keep the original and make copies. Your employment authorization stays valid the entire time the petition is pending.

The 60-Day Grace Period After Job Loss

Losing your job doesn’t force an immediate departure. Federal regulations give H-1B workers up to 60 consecutive calendar days (or until your authorized stay expires, whichever comes first) to find a new employer and file a portability petition.⁴ The clock starts the day after your last paid working day. It applies whether you were laid off or resigned.

You cannot work during the grace period. You’re in a lawful holding pattern. But once a new employer files a nonfrivolous H-1B petition within those 60 days, you can begin work as soon as USCIS receives it, and your authorized stay extends while the petition sits pending.⁴ You get one grace period per employer petition validity period, so treat it as a one-shot opportunity.

Sixty days sounds generous until you account for the weeks a new employer needs to get a Labor Condition Application certified, gather documentation, and prepare the I-129 petition. Starting the job search on day one, not day fifteen, changes the math.

What the New Employer Files

Before filing anything with USCIS, the new employer must obtain a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor’s electronic system. The LCA confirms the employer will pay at least the prevailing wage for your position and geographic area and that hiring you won’t harm working conditions for similarly employed U.S. workers.⁵ No certified LCA means no valid petition.

The petition itself is Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.⁶ The employer supplies details about job duties, salary, work location, and your qualifications. Incomplete or inconsistent information routinely triggers Requests for Evidence, which can stall a case for months. Getting the details right on the first filing matters more than filing quickly.

Supporting documents usually include:

Your I-94 record, showing lawful entry and your current authorized stay.
Three recent pay stubs demonstrating you’ve been maintaining valid H-1B status.
A detailed offer letter from the new employer specifying salary, title, duties, and location.
Evidence of qualifications: degree, transcripts, professional licenses, and a credential evaluation if the degree is from outside the United States.
The certified LCA, signed by the employer and counsel if applicable.

USCIS also requires evidence that the role qualifies as a specialty occupation, meaning it requires at least a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a specific field.⁷

Filing Fees and Who Is Allowed to Pay Them

The fee stack surprises many first-time filers. Major components:

The base I-129 filing fee, published on the USCIS fee schedule. Check it before filing, since USCIS has announced fee adjustments taking effect in April 2026.⁶
ACWIA training fee: $750 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees, $1,500 for larger employers.
Fraud prevention and detection fee: $500, required for initial H-1B petitions and employer changes.
Asylum Program Fee: $600 for employers with more than 25 employees, $300 for smaller employers, and $0 for nonprofits.⁸
Public Law 114-113 fee: an additional $4,000 if the employer has 50 or more U.S. employees with more than half in H-1B or L-1 status. This applies to initial petitions and employer changes and remains in effect through September 30, 2027.⁹

Attorney fees typically run $1,500 to $5,000 depending on case complexity and location.

Federal regulations prohibit your employer from passing most of these costs to you. Attorney fees, LCA preparation costs, and the fraud prevention and detection fee cannot be deducted from your paycheck, directly or indirectly. If a third party pays the fee and you reimburse that third party, the employer is still in violation.⁵ Any unauthorized deduction that drops your pay below the required prevailing wage counts as wage theft in the Department of Labor’s eyes, even if it doesn’t appear as a line item on your pay stub. An employer can include a legitimate liquidated damages clause if you leave before a certain date, but that clause cannot cover the filing fees.

Processing Times and Premium Processing

Regular processing for H-1B petitions runs anywhere from two to eight months, with three to five months common. Premium processing is available through Form I-907. As of March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for an I-129 is $2,965, and USCIS guarantees initial action (approval, denial, request for evidence, or notice of intent to deny) within 15 business days.¹⁰ If USCIS misses the deadline, it refunds the fee. Premium processing doesn’t change when you can start work (portability already lets you start on filing), but it removes months of uncertainty about the final decision.

What Happens If the Petition Is Denied

A denial ends your authorization to work for the new employer the moment USCIS notifies the petitioning employer.¹¹ Work you performed between filing and denial was lawful, so you don’t retroactively accumulate unlawful presence. But you must stop working immediately.

Your options depend on whether you still hold valid status from a prior approved petition. If your previous H-1B employer’s petition is still valid and you haven’t been terminated there, returning may be possible. Otherwise you’d generally need another employer willing to file, a change to a different visa status, or departure. The 60-day grace period may apply after the denial if it constitutes a termination.

This is why filing quality matters more than filing speed. A denial rooted in a weak specialty-occupation argument or missing evidence is preventable with proper preparation.

Cap-Exempt to Cap-Subject Moves

Portability does not work the way most people expect when you move from a cap-exempt employer (universities, nonprofit research organizations, government research entities) to a private-sector company. That move puts you into the annual H-1B lottery. Your new employer has to register you, and if the cap is already exhausted for the fiscal year, you can’t start the cap-subject job until the following October 1.²

One workaround exists. If you keep your cap-exempt position and add the private-sector role as concurrent employment, you may avoid the lottery for the second job. The cap-subject employer still files its own I-129, but your continued cap-exempt employment anchors the arrangement.² Transfers between two cap-subject employers or between two cap-exempt employers don’t raise this issue, since you’ve either already been counted or remain outside the cap.

Bridge Petitions When You Change Again Mid-Transfer

Sometimes the new job doesn’t work out and a third employer appears while the second employer’s petition is still pending. USCIS permits successive bridge petitions, with each new employer filing its own I-129, but every petition in the chain must independently satisfy H-1B requirements. Risk compounds with each link. If any petition in the chain is denied and your original authorized status has expired, that denial can undercut every petition filed after it, taking down subsequent pending petitions built on the bridge.

Bridge petitions are legal but fragile. The more links, the more exposure to a single denial collapsing the whole structure. Experienced legal counsel becomes essential rather than optional.

Green Card Protections That Survive a Job Change

If you’re partway through employer-sponsored green card processing, AC21 offers two protections that let you switch employers without starting over.

Extensions Beyond the Six-Year H-1B Limit

H-1B status normally caps at six years. Once at least 365 days have passed since your employer filed a permanent labor certification (PERM) or an I-140, you can request H-1B extensions in one-year increments.¹¹ With an approved I-140 but no available immigrant visa due to per-country backlogs, you can get three-year extensions. These extensions are available whether or not you change employers.

The 180-Day Rule for Adjustment Applicants

Once your Form I-485 has been pending 180 days or more, you can change jobs without losing your place in the green card line. The new position must be in the same or a similar occupational classification as the one described in your original I-140.¹² USCIS looks at Standard Occupational Classification codes, job duties, required skills, education requirements, and salary. You request this portability by filing Form I-485 Supplement J with proof of the 180-day pending period and a copy of your I-140 approval notice or receipt.

Your Approved I-140 Can Survive Employer Withdrawal

If your I-140 has been approved for 180 days or more, your original employer cannot kill your green card case by withdrawing the petition or going out of business. The approved petition remains valid for retaining your priority date.¹² If the I-140 has been approved for fewer than 180 days and the employer withdraws it, USCIS will automatically revoke the approval. Leaving too soon after I-140 approval can undo years of green card work.

Travel While the Petition Is Pending

International travel during a pending portability petition is the riskiest single move in this whole process.

To re-enter the United States, you need a valid, unexpired H-1B visa stamp in your passport. Stamps often expire before the underlying status does, and if yours has, you’ll have to book a consular appointment abroad and obtain a new one before returning. If the portability petition is denied while you’re outside the country, you may have no way back in under H-1B classification.

At the port of entry you’ll need to present the I-797 notice showing your basis for returning to work.² Customs officers have discretion to question the pending petition, and a consular officer reviewing a new stamp will look closely at whether the new position genuinely qualifies.

Automatic Revalidation for Short Trips

A limited exception exists for brief trips to Canada, Mexico, or adjacent islands lasting 30 days or fewer. Under automatic revalidation, you may be readmitted with an expired visa stamp if you hold a valid I-94 and meet the other conditions.¹³ Automatic revalidation is not available if you’ve applied for a new visa at a consulate and it hasn’t been issued, or if your application was denied. Border officers still have discretion, and the interaction between a pending portability petition and automatic revalidation is not always predictable.

The safest approach is straightforward: avoid international travel while the portability petition is pending unless it’s truly necessary, and if you must travel, get legal advice specific to your situation before booking.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 4.4 Acceptable Receipts
4
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment
5
eCFR. 20 CFR Part 655, Subpart H – Labor Condition Applications and Requirements for Employers Seeking To Employ Nonimmigrants on H-1B Visas
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Checklist of Required Initial Evidence for Form I-129
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions, Public Law 114-113
10
Federal Register. Adjustment to Premium Processing Fees
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Job Portability After Adjustment Filing and Other AC21 Provisions
13
U.S. Department of State. Automatic Revalidation