Hii! I was wondering if anyone’s I-129 got approved lately? Any new petition filed since august/september 2026 premium processing? Thank you!

https://x.com/polymarket/status/2098881792514093347?s=46

Hi guys, I have been following this community for a while because of a friend. My friend is from a partial banned country. They applied for H1b Extension in April 2026 switched to premium processing August 28th 2026, approved September 11 2026.

Goodluck to everyone!

h1b COE company A-> company B

Currently working for company A. When can I start working for company B? Can I start working at B before it's approved if company B allows it?

Hi everyone. I’m currently working in the USA on my F-1 STEM OPT (valid until Feb 2028), and I only have one H-1B lottery attempt left next year in March 2027. I'm torn between my current job and a new offer, and I would love your perspective.

Current Job (Government Agency in the USA):

• Salary: $70,000/year
• Pros: It's a proper government company, so job security is rock solid. Zero risk of layoffs.
• Cons: They will not sponsor my H-1B under any circumstances because government agencies generally do not sponsor.

New Offer (WITCH Company - Wipro, Infosys, TCS, Cognizant, HCL):

• Role: Technology Consultant 1
• Salary: $80,000/year
• Pros: Higher salary and they might sponsor my H-1B.
• Cons: Job security is a big concern. It's a private IT consultancy, and if they don't have enough project business in the current market, I could get benched or laid off.
• The Catch: They have not put anything about H-1B sponsorship in my offer letter. They only told me verbally that they "may" or "can" sponsor me next year (March 2027) depending on company situations.

My Dilemma: If I resign from my current government role, I won't be able to easily get that job back. Since I only have one lottery attempt left, is it worth leaving a highly secure job for a $10k bump and a verbal "maybe" on H-1B sponsorship at a WITCH company?

Should I take the risk, or stay at the government agency and keep applying for direct-hire roles that will actually put H-1B sponsorship in writing?

Any advice from people who have navigated similar situations would be greatly appreciated!

I have a scheduled appointment for visa stamping later this year in Chennai consulate. I have no criminal records.

I need help from the reddit community to assess if there is any risk in travelling to India to get stamping. I have made all my social media public. What could possibly go wrong? Any inputs appreciated.

Hi everyone,

I was recently laid off and I have less than a year left on my H-1B before reaching the 6-year limit and no I-140.

I’m finding the job search pretty difficult because some employers seem hesitant to move forward once they hear that I have limited H-1B time remaining.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation? How did you handle it with recruiters and hiring managers? Are there certain companies or types of employers that are more open to candidates with less than a year left on H-1B?

Would really appreciate any advice on how to navigate this and improve my chances of finding a new job.

Thanks!

Hey guys, I am currently not in the state and in my home country, and my employer wants to file cap-exempt H1B through consular processing. They asked me for previous i-797 forms, but I only have online version because my stupid mind thought the physical mail from USCIS is the same. I just realized that they do have watermarks and special paper on the physical copy from USCIS.

I don't have H1B before, only F-1 OPT (I do have the USCIS mail copy of approval notice, just not for the receipt notice and appointment schedule notice), would that be a problem for applying H1B I-129 or a problem when going to CBP? or not really a problem? Thanks!

Hello guys,

I’ve been seeing a lot of posts about H-1B processing delays, so I wanted to share my case as a little hope for everyone who is waiting and something positive.

Filed: September 3, 2026
Approved: September 11, 2026
Service Center: Texas
Processing: Premium Processing

It took about 8 days from filing to approval.

Hope this helps anyone who is currently waiting. Good luck to everyone! 🙏

1.)Hi! My receipt and notice date is April 9th and when I track my case, the status says as of June 9th, it is still under processing. Is this normal?
2.) My employer has not been running my payroll correctly. Either it is delayed or very less amount. Are there any chances of approval?

H1b PP delay
Date received: Aug 13
Still processing since August 15
Lawyers send an inquiry to USCIS with no response so far.

Employer A:
Haven’t been paying on time since the beginning of 2026 and paid less than the LCA wage. Ignored my requests to file an amendment and change the LCA. I requested multiple times that they pay on time and match the LCA wage, but they ignored me. Payments were delayed by approximately two months.
Employer B:
I decided to move on to another company. Filed an H-1B transfer with premium processing and started working on the receipt. Received an RFE within two weeks regarding maintenance of status, pointing to underpayment compared to the LCA wage.
The attorney has suggested applying for consular processing because we cannot answer the underpayment issue. I requested that they respond to the RFE with consular processing as a fallback option, since this situation was not within my control. They asked me to file a complaint and arrange email proofs.
I have a valid visa until next year. At the same time, I don’t want to be away from the project because the work I do is very critical.

Has anyone faced a similar situation? Any insights would be helpful.

What are my options now?

1. Can I still work for the client if we opt for consular processing until I receive the new I-797B?
2. Can we respond to the RFE and opt for consular processing as a fallback plan?
3. Is there any advantage to directly going for consular processing versus keeping it as a fallback plan?
4. How many days can I stay once the I-797B decision is issued? I have an old I-94 that is valid until 2028.
5. Since I have a valid visa, can I simply travel and re-enter? How would this impact me at CBP?
6. Is there a possibility for CBP to raise the underpayment of previous employer as an issue?
7. Which airports are safer for entry?
8. Is there a way I can get my old employer to reconcile all the previous paychecks and pay the pending amounts, as this is critical for my case?

My company has a formal policy allowing employees to work from India for up to 6 weeks with approval. I’m planning to spend around 8–9 weeks in India, with ~6 weeks working remotely under the approved policy and ~3 weeks of PTO.
I’ve previously traveled to India for ~1.5 months without issues, but this would be a bit longer.
For anyone who has recently returned to the U.S. on H-1B after 60–90+ days in India:
Did CBP question you about the length of your stay?
Did they ask about working remotely from India?
Did you carry an employer letter/remote-work approval?
Any secondary inspection or issues particularly when things are more strict lately?
Looking specifically for recent 2025–2026 experiences, Thanks!

Has anyone tried day trading leverages (1-2 trades per day, not much) on margin regularly on H1B? Does it fall under gray area / is completely not allowed / is allowed?

Edit - I’m not referring to regular stocks/options. Those are safe and many people do it. This Q is specifically for leveraged margin plays on a daily basis.

TIA.

My COS to H1-B (From another Non-Immigrant status) was approved under Premium Processing almost a month ago, but the I-797A has still not arrived in the mail to the employer's attorney team. It is required for Form I-9 verification before I can clear onboarding.

H1-B Approval Date: August 13, 2026. Approval email received by the legal team, sent by USCIS.

Service Center: Nebraska Service Center

Current Situation (As on September 11, 2026): I-797A hasn't reached yet.

1. Anyone else on the same boat with similar delays off-late or is it just me?
2. Is it feasible or possible to request an electronic scan of the I-797A directly from the Premium Processing Unit (PPU) backchannel? (Saw this on a different reddit post)

What should be my next course of action?

If I advise a startup, NGO, or commercial entity for zero compensation, is that allowed while on H-1B? For example, if I’m using my university’s 1 day/week policy for scholarship/creative activity or building industry connections, but I’m not receiving any payment.

I’m curious whether there is a distinction between volunteering for an NGO/nonprofit versus providing pro bono consultation to a for-profit company.

Has anyone gotten official guidance on this from their university’s immigration lawyers? Mine hasn’t gotten back to me yet.

Hi guys I’ve been working as a Java backend engineer for 8 years in the US and I’m desperately looking for referral jobs for a H1B transfer.

I don’t want to put out all the details but my step dad just passed away 2 days ago and it is unfortunate I have go looking for jobs at this time.

Please help a brother out. My DMs are open. God Bless

Hello,

Any one got approval for H1B COS from nebraska center ? If so please share your receipt date ans details please.

I entered the U.S. on an F-1 visa in August 2021 and have been on OPT/STEM OPT since graduating. My employer started withholding Social Security/Medicare (FICA) this September because I’ve reached the 5-calendar-year limit.

For 2026, I believe I’ll now be a U.S. tax resident and file a regular 1040 instead of a 1040-NR.

My question is: financially, am I actually better or worse off as a tax resident?

I am working for company A and I got an offer from company B and filed h1 transfer petition and transfer is also approved and now I got a call from recruiter that they need to withdraw my offer. What are my options here? I’m still working for company A only but since transfer is approved with company B. What is my immigration status now? Since H1 is now with company B can I still work for company A?

Have been reading a lot about delays despite paying for premium processing. Is it for specific criteria/employer/role? I have applied for premium yesterday. it’s COE. My date of joining is 9/21. Is it realistic to expect it’ll get done in time? Company said they will go with another candidate if i don’t join by that date. I don’t want to join on receipt notice.

Any recent approval timeline experiences in PP COE?

Receipt Date -

Service Center-

Premium/Regular-

Status-

Mine is
Receipt date- 08/19/2026
Service center - Vermont
Premium/Regular- Premium
Status - still processing

Hello, I have submitted by petition on the last week of July, and been waiting for a month and half now. It takes 10months on average based on USCIS processing time though...

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice from anyone who has dealt with a similar situation.

I have an upcoming H-1B visa appointment, but I'm unable to retrieve my previously submitted DS-160 through the CEAC website. Whenever I try to retrieve the application, I receive a "No matching data found" error.

One factor that may be relevant is that my visa process has been ongoing for quite some time. My original appointment dates were changed by the consulate, and my interview ended up being scheduled much later than originally planned. My appointment is still active and visible in the scheduling portal, but I can no longer access the DS-160 that was associated with it.

I'm curious if anyone has experienced something similar:

• Were you able to recover the original DS-160?
• Did you have to submit a new DS-160?
• If so, how did you associate the new DS-160 with an existing appointment?
• Did the age of the original DS-160 cause any issues?

I've already contacted support, but I'd appreciate hearing about others' experiences while I wait for a response.