apply to H1-B while on K1 Visa ??

[ucani7 0]

I was working in the States on H1B visa about 1 year ago and then I chose to quit job and returned to my home country. The plan of my bf (US citizen) and me back then was to get married in my home country and then see how things go.

Couple of months later, we changed the plan. We started to apply for K1 fiancee visa in June 2011. The K1 visa was approved in January 2012 and I landed in the States 3 weeks ago. So now I am on K1 visa, planning to get married and then file a green card... It will probably take 3-6 months to get all the paper works done

However, the days of waiting are long and boring. So I find myself a job offer and the employer is willing to sponsor me with the work visa.

Since I had H1-B visa before, it will be considered as a "H1B transfer" and not subject to cap limit.

So my questions are:

- Is there any contradiction between my current visa status (K1) and work visa H1-B? Will applying H1B have negative impact on K1 visa?

- If there's any, I'd prefer to go with H1-B instead of K1... Can I do that?

- If yes, How long will it take to get H1-B approved under premium process? I know regular process usually takes 2 months.

These issues really bother me and I could not find answers else where. Your help will be greatly appreciated!!!

[Dakine10 5,452]

I was working in the States on H1B visa about 1 year ago and then I chose to quit job and returned to my home country. The plan of my bf (US citizen) and me back then was to get married in my home country and then see how things go.

Couple of months later, we changed the plan. We started to apply for K1 fiancee visa in June 2011. The K1 visa was approved in January 2012 and I landed in the States 3 weeks ago. So now I am on K1 visa, planning to get married and then file a green card... It will probably take 3-6 months to get all the paper works done

However, the days of waiting are long and boring. So I find myself a job offer and the employer is willing to sponsor me with the work visa.

Since I had H1-B visa before, it will be considered as a "H1B transfer" and not subject to cap limit.

So my questions are:

- Is there any contradiction between my current visa status (K1) and work visa H1-B? Will applying H1B have negative impact on K1 visa?

- If there's any, I'd prefer to go with H1-B instead of K1... Can I do that?

- If yes, How long will it take to get H1-B approved under premium process? I know regular process usually takes 2 months.

These issues really bother me and I could not find answers else where. Your help will be greatly appreciated!!!

The K1 visa basically allows you entry to get married and then adjust status from there. The visa itself expires after entry and the K1 status lasts for 90 days. People can have a K1 and H1B processing concurrently from outside the USA and decide which one is better based on processing times. I don't really see the point in doing this once you're inside since the USA, since you cannot change from K1 to H1b inside the USA. You would have to leave and reenter on the H1B. By that point there is no time or cost savings.

Is there a reason why you don't just get married and adjust status? Your employment authorization (EAD) would normally be approved within 60-90 days.