H-1B Transfer to a New Employer: Portability, Timing, and the 60-Day Grace Period

An H-1B transfer is not a transfer at all. The new employer files its own Form I-129 petition for you, and under the portability rule you may begin working for that employer as soon as USCIS properly receives a non-frivolous petition, or on the start date the petition requests, whichever is later. You do not need the old employer’s permission, and USCIS does not notify them. Three conditions apply: you were lawfully admitted, you have not worked without authorization since your last admission, and the new petition is filed before your current H-1B period of stay expires. A petition filed by a new employer for someone already counted against the cap is cap-exempt, so there is no lottery and no waiting for October. If your job ended before the new petition could be filed, a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days gives you time to find a new employer or change status. This guide covers the filing, the timing decisions, the costs, and the traps.

What a transfer actually is

The H-1B belongs to the employer-employee relationship, not to the worker, so every change of employer is a new petition. The new company obtains a certified Labor Condition Application (LCA) from the Department of Labor for the new job and location, then files Form I-129 with USCIS asking for a change of employer. The petition must show the job is a specialty occupation, that you qualify for it, and that you are currently in valid H-1B status. Your old employer’s approval notice, your most recent pay stubs, and your I-94 are the core of that last point.

The word "transfer" survives because, from the worker’s point of view, the result looks like one: same visa category, no gap in status if the filing is timely, and often no new visa stamp. If the H-1B visa in your passport is still valid, you can travel on it together with the new employer’s approval notice.

When you can start the new job

The portability provision, added by the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act (AC21) and now in section 214(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, lets an H-1B worker begin employment with a new petitioner once that petitioner has properly filed a non-frivolous petition. USCIS explains the three eligibility conditions: lawful admission, no unauthorized employment since that admission, and a timely filing before the current period of authorized stay ends. Your work authorization under portability lasts until USCIS decides the new petition.

Starting on receipt is a business decision as much as a legal one. If the new petition has a weakness, the safer course is to keep the old job until the approval arrives, which is where premium processing earns its fee: a decision within 15 business days instead of months.

The cap question: when a transfer needs the lottery

A worker who was counted against the annual H-1B cap in the past six years does not need to be counted again, so moving between two cap-subject employers is a straightforward change-of-employer petition filed at any time of year. The exception is the direction of travel between cap-exempt and cap-subject employment:

• Cap-subject to cap-subject (one company to another): cap-exempt filing, any time of year.
• Cap-subject to cap-exempt (a company to a university, nonprofit research organization, or affiliated nonprofit): cap-exempt filing, any time of year. Our cap-exempt H-1B page explains which employers qualify.
• Cap-exempt to cap-subject (a university to a company): the new employer must register in the lottery, normally in March, and can only file if selected. Until then, the worker may work for the company concurrently while keeping the cap-exempt job, as USCIS confirms on its H-1B page.

The 60-day grace period after a job ends

When H-1B employment ends, the regulation at 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2) says the worker and dependents will not be treated as having failed to maintain status solely because the employment ended, for up to 60 consecutive days or until the end of the authorized validity period on the I-94, whichever is shorter. Two details matter. The period is discretionary, not guaranteed. And it runs once per authorized validity period, so a second layoff in the same approval period may not get a second 60 days.

USCIS describes the options in its guidance for workers after termination. Within the grace period you can have a new employer file a change-of-employer petition, file a change of status to a dependent category such as H-4 or L-2, to F-1, or to B-2 while you search, or file for adjustment of status if an immigrant petition makes you eligible. A timely, non-frivolous change-of-status application stops unlawful presence from accruing while it is pending, even past day 60. Workers with an approved I-140 who face compelling circumstances may also qualify for a one-year compelling-circumstances work permit.

What the new employer files

A change-of-employer petition has the same skeleton as any H-1B petition, with one extra proof: that you are in status now. The package usually contains:

• A certified LCA for the new job title, wage level, and worksite, with the public access file the employer must keep.
• Form I-129 with the H supplement and the H-1B data collection supplement, requesting a change of employer and, where the old approval still has time left, the remaining period up to the six-year limit.
• Evidence that the position is a specialty occupation and that your degree matches it.
• Your current approval notice, recent pay stubs, I-94, passport, and visa.
• A letter from the new employer describing the role, the duties, the supervision, and the wage.
• Proof of the employer’s business: tax ID, financial statements or annual report, and, for staffing or consulting arrangements, the end-client contracts and itinerary.

If you have worked for the old employer without a gap, a short window between the last pay stub and the filing is normal. A long gap invites a Request for Evidence about whether you maintained status, which is the most common reason transfer petitions slow down.

What a transfer costs

Government fees come from the USCIS fee schedule, edition dated October 16, 2026. Under Department of Labor rules, the petition costs are the employer’s business expense and may not be passed to the worker if doing so would bring pay below the required wage.

Attorney fees are separate and are agreed with the employer before work starts; at Atlas they are flat. One more item to check before any petition for a worker who is outside the United States: the September 2025 presidential proclamation that attached a $100,000 payment to certain new H-1B petitions. USCIS reports that a federal court vacated its implementing guidance in June 2026 and that the government has appealed, so the requirement’s status can change. Change-of-employer petitions for workers already in the United States in H-1B status were not covered by the guidance as issued, but confirm the current position with counsel before filing.

How long it takes

The LCA takes about seven business days to certify. Regular processing of the I-129 varies by service center; the current ranges are on our processing times page. Premium processing commits USCIS to an action within 15 business days of receipt. In practice, an employer that has its documents ready can go from offer letter to filed petition in two to three weeks, and from filing to approval in another three weeks with premium processing.

Transfers and a pending green card

Changing employers does not have to cost you a green card already in progress. An approved I-140 keeps its priority date for a later petition by another employer, and once an I-140 has been approved for 180 days, the priority date survives even if the old employer withdraws the petition. The approved I-140 also supports H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit while the green card is pending. If your I-485 has been pending for 180 days or more, the job-portability provision in section 204(j) lets you move to a same-or-similar job with a new employer without a new I-140. Our employer guide to retrogression explains how these pieces fit for sponsored employees.

H-4 spouses and children

Dependents’ status follows yours. A transfer does not require a new H-4 filing when the family’s I-94s are still valid, but an extension requested in the new petition should be matched by an I-539 for the family so their status runs on the same clock. An H-4 spouse with a work permit based on your approved I-140 keeps that eligibility through the change of employer, as long as your H-1B status continues.

How Atlas Immigration Law helps

We handle H-1B transfers for employers hiring a worker who is already in the country and for workers who need to move quickly after a layoff. The first conversation covers the three portability conditions, the cap question, and whether to start on receipt or wait for approval. The petition then runs on a flat fee agreed in writing, billed at milestones, with a dedicated paralegal reachable by call, email, or text, same-business-day responses, and attorney Jordan Weinberg reviewing every filing. Employers follow each case in the Atlas Vision client portal. Atlas is based in Dallas and represents employers and workers in all 50 states; see our H-1B services or the broader work visa practice, or request a free consultation.

This guide is part of our work visa services for employers — the service page covers eligibility, fees, and how we handle these cases.

Jordan S. Weinberg, Esq.

Founder & Managing Attorney, Atlas Immigration Law

Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Dallas Bar Association. Licensed to practice in Texas; fluent in English and Spanish.

Legally reviewed by a licensed immigration attorney

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law and procedures change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts — consult a licensed immigration attorney about your situation.