How to Transfer an H-1B Visa to Another Employer

To transfer an H-1B visa to another employer, the new employer files a fresh H-1B petition on Form I-129 with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), backed by a certified Labor Condition Application from the Department of Labor. Under the H-1B portability rule, you can begin working for the new employer the day USCIS receives that petition. You do not go back through the lottery, and your prior H-1B counts you as already cap-counted.¹

Who Qualifies to Transfer

The word “transfer” is loose. USCIS does not move your visa; your new employer files a brand-new petition. To qualify, you must have been lawfully admitted to the United States, the new petition must be filed before your current authorized stay expires, and you must not have worked without authorization since your last admission.²

You do not have to still be employed by your current sponsor on the day of filing, but you do need to be in valid H-1B status or within the 60-day grace period after your prior employment ended. The new job must qualify as a specialty occupation, meaning it requires at least a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a directly related field.³

Transfers are not subject to the annual H-1B cap. The lottery applies only to initial petitions for workers who have never held H-1B status, so once you have been counted, a transfer can be filed at any point in the year.

What the New Employer Files

The petition process starts with the Labor Condition Application (LCA). The new employer files it with the Department of Labor and attests that they will pay you at least the higher of the actual wage paid to similarly qualified workers at the company or the prevailing wage for the position in the area where you will work.⁴ LCA certification usually takes about seven business days.

Once the LCA is certified, the employer files Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, with the appropriate USCIS service center.⁵ The employer provides the company details: name, address, Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), nature of business, number of employees, and annual revenue.

What You Need to Provide

Most of the petition file is documentation from your side. Pull these together as early as possible:

Full legal name, date of birth, country of birth, and passport information.
Your I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, current and any previous H-1B approval notices (Form I-797), and your most recent visa stamp.⁶
Two or three recent pay stubs from your current or most recent employer, showing you have been maintaining valid H-1B status and receiving the required wage.
Degrees, transcripts, and any credential evaluations demonstrating your qualifications for the specialty occupation.
Your resume and prior employment letters verifying relevant experience.
The job offer details: title, duties, salary, work location, and qualification requirements.

When You Can Start the New Job

Under the H-1B portability provision, you are authorized to begin working for the new employer the moment USCIS receives a nonfrivolous petition, or on the requested start date, whichever is later.² You do not have to wait for approval. Portability-based work authorization continues until USCIS decides the case.⁷

The trigger is the Form I-797C receipt notice USCIS sends when it accepts the filing.⁸ Keep it. It proves the petition is pending and it is the document that establishes your right to start work.

Coordinate your departure date with the filing date. If you quit before the new petition is filed, you start burning grace-period days you may need. When the new employer completes your Form I-9, they will use your unexpired I-94 from the prior employer along with your passport as List A documents, and note “AC-21” with the petition filing date in the additional information field.⁹

Fees and Who Pays Them

An H-1B transfer petition carries several government fees:

The Form I-129 base filing fee, which varies by employer size. Check the current amount on the USCIS fee schedule.⁵
The ACWIA training fee: $750 for employers with 25 or fewer full-time employees, or $1,500 for larger employers.
The Fraud Prevention and Detection fee of $500, required on every H-1B transfer petition.¹⁰
The Asylum Program Fee: $600 for employers with more than 25 full-time equivalent employees, $300 for smaller employers, and $0 for nonprofits.
A $4,000 Public Law 114-113 fee, but only when the employer has 50 or more U.S. employees and more than half are in H-1B or L-1 status. That fee remains in effect through September 30, 2027.¹¹

Premium processing is optional. Filing Form I-907 guarantees USCIS will take adjudicative action within 15 business days. Effective March 1, 2026, the premium processing fee for an I-129 H-1B petition is $2,965.¹²

Federal law requires the employer to pay the I-129 base filing fee, the ACWIA training fee, and the Fraud Prevention and Detection fee. These costs cannot be passed to you, and the Department of Labor can investigate violations. Premium processing is the main exception: if you request expedited processing for your own convenience, you can legally pay that fee yourself. Fees for dependent H-4 applications and consular visa stamping are also permissible employee expenses.

Processing Times and Requests for Evidence

Regular processing runs roughly three to five months depending on the service center handling the case, and estimates fluctuate. Premium processing shortens that to 15 business days, but “adjudicative action” means USCIS will approve, deny, or issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) in that window.¹³ It does not guarantee approval in 15 days.

RFEs are common on H-1B transfers. USCIS often asks for more evidence that the job qualifies as a specialty occupation, that the employer-employee relationship is legitimate, or that your credentials match the position. An RFE is not a denial, but a thin response frequently produces one, so treat the deadline seriously. If USCIS approves the petition, it issues a Form I-797 approval notice, which together with your updated I-94 is your proof of authorized status with the new employer.⁶

The 60-Day Grace Period If You’ve Already Lost Your Job

If your prior H-1B employment ends before your I-94 expires (by layoff, termination, or resignation), you do not immediately fall out of status. Federal regulations give you up to 60 consecutive days, or until your I-94 expires, whichever comes first, to find a new employer and have a transfer petition filed.¹⁴ The clock starts the day after your last day of paid employment. Severance does not pause it.

You cannot work during the grace period until a new petition has been filed. Once USCIS receives it, portability lets you begin work for the new employer right away. Keep your termination letter, final pay stub, and any layoff notice; the new petition needs your last employment date on the record.

The grace period is available once per authorized validity period, and USCIS has discretion to shorten or deny it where there is a history of status violations, unauthorized employment, or fraud.

How the Transfer Affects Your Six-Year Limit

H-1B status has a maximum duration of six years, usually granted as an initial three years plus one three-year extension. A transfer does not reset that clock. If you have used four years, the new employer can only petition for the remaining two.¹⁵

Two exceptions allow time beyond six years for workers pursuing permanent residency. If a labor certification (PERM) or Form I-140 was filed on your behalf at least 365 days before your six-year limit, your employer can request one-year extensions. If you have an approved I-140 but no immigrant visa number is available because of backlogs, extensions can be granted in three-year increments.

You can also recapture time spent physically outside the United States. Days spent abroad beyond 24 hours during your H-1B period do not count against the six-year cap, and that time can be added back to your authorized stay. If you traveled frequently, recapture can meaningfully extend how long you have left.

Traveling While the Petition Is Pending

International travel with a pending transfer is possible but risky. If you leave the country while a change-of-status request is pending, USCIS treats the change of status as abandoned. The petition itself is not automatically denied, but it converts to a consular case, meaning you cannot re-enter on the new H-1B status until you attend a visa interview at a U.S. consulate and get a new stamp.

If you already have a valid, unexpired H-1B visa stamp in your passport, re-entry is simpler: present the stamp with a copy of the I-797C receipt notice for the pending petition. If your stamp has expired, you will need a consular appointment before you can return, and wait times at some posts range from a few days to over a year.

Your previous employer may also withdraw their H-1B petition after you leave, which is their right. The withdrawal does not invalidate the properly filed new petition, but if you are abroad without a valid stamp and the new petition is not yet approved, your options narrow quickly. The safe practice is to stay in the United States until the transfer is approved and you have a valid visa stamp for re-entry.

If USCIS Denies the Transfer

If USCIS denies the transfer petition, your portability-based authorization with the new employer ends immediately, and you must stop working as soon as you receive the denial notice.² What follows depends on where you stand:

If your prior employer’s H-1B petition is still active and your I-94 has not expired, you may be able to return to that employer. That requires their cooperation and is not guaranteed.
If your prior H-1B status has already expired, you generally have until the departure date on your I-94 to file another petition, change to a different status, or leave the country.
You can file a motion to reopen if new evidence exists, or a motion to reconsider if you believe USCIS applied the law incorrectly. Neither restores work authorization while it is pending.
If the denial was based on a fixable defect such as missing documents or an incorrect fee, the new employer can refile with the problem corrected.

A denial after you have already left your previous employer is the worst-case scenario. This is where premium processing earns its fee. Getting the answer in 15 business days rather than months into the new job sharply reduces the chance of a surprise that leaves you without status and without a job to return to.

1
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Cap Season
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1184 – Admission of Nonimmigrants
3
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H-1B Specialty Occupations – Section: Eligibility Criteria
4
U.S. Department of Labor. H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 Specialty Professional Workers
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 62W – What Is Portability and to Whom Does It Apply
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797C, Notice of Action – Section: What Is a Form I-797C
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Handbook for Employers M-274 – 7.5 H-1B Specialty Occupations – Section: H-1B Employees Changing Employers Porting
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. H and L Filing Fees for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
11
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Fee Increase for Certain H-1B and L-1 Petitions Public Law 114-113
12
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS to Increase Premium Processing Fees
13
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. How Do I Request Premium Processing
14
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.1
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. FAQs for Individuals in H-1B Nonimmigrant Status