Sathiharu,

I'm just wondering if it is possible for a non OPT F1 student to can get H1B. I do have US Master's degree and already consumed its OPT a couple of years ago. At the moment, I am pursuing another Masters degree these days. I know I won't get another OPT after I complete this Master degree. My university does not provide CPT. I heard that I still can get H1B if I find an employer to file it for me. Is that true? If yes, is there any consulting companies who can help me file H1B directly from F1 (non OPT) status?

Please let me know if someone has gone thru this issue or if you guys have any idea about this for me.

Thank you. God bless you all. God bless Nepal.

A1 Bro,
Maile pahile bhane jasti Bro le H1B ko purpose nai bujheko chiana. Consulting company le OPT ma bhayeka manche lai hire garcha because they have work permit, tara timro case ma you don't have work permit, so they cant register you as a valid employee nor they can file your H1b to USCIS. OPT ma bhayeko manche ko H1B file garcha kati consulting company le depends on how big is the consulting company. Uniharule USCIS lai inhouse project cha bhanera H1B ko lagi apply garcha ani tei anusar le documentation pani tayar parcha. Technically OPT holders are their employee and they have right to file for H1B if they want. NoN OPT student are not eligible to work, they are only allowed to study, tei vayera they don't offer any job jo sanga work permit chaina(in this case OPT/CPT). Kei clear bho BRO?

Regards,
Haku

Silentblogger, where do you think I was misleading, i would like to clarify muself?

dear haku_theblack,

Thanks again for your response and for your willingness to make me clear and help me. Okay I have a straight question: Currently I am pursuing Masters degree and my university does not provide CPT at all (regardless of which semester I am on and which discipline I am on). Also I can't get OPT after I am done since I already consumed it after I finished my 1st Master's degree a couple of years ago. Suppose I apply for job and a company really want to hire me because of my previous professional work experiences and lets say also becasue of my technical academic background. Please assume the company really want to hire me at any cost, they need me on their company. Now, we (I and the company willing to hire me) both know that I, as a non OPT student in US, am not allowed to work. So in this scenario, can't they first file H1B for me (even for 2016) and once I get H1B on my hand, can't I legally work in that company? And can't a consulting company be the one who like to file me H1B while I am in non OPT student status? Isn't there any case or record in history that a company hired a non OPT student by first filing H1B for him/her?

Please don't get me wrong. I just want to make sure about this.

Thank you.

A1 Bro,
I think Even if the the Company wants to hire you, They cannot file for your H1B if you remain in F1(Student and not have the work permit, CPT/OPT) for 2016. You have to prove it to USCIS that you are currently working with the company via CPT/OPT with all the proofs(Paystubs, work details, responsibility etc.) and not the other way. Had that been the case, nobody would go to CPT college seeking for CPT. USCIS have list of process that everyone need to follow to legally work in US. Since you have completed your masters in US and leveraged your OPT I am guessing you might easily find a CPT school and get a CPT and process for next year H1B. Bottom line you have to have CPT/OPT to file for H1B. There is no alternative. The Company CANNOT hire you if you do not have the work permit, that is when the back ground check comes in effect. The company has to verify that you are legally eligible to work in US in other words you have work permit.
I think this is the process Unless Silentblogger thinks otherwise.

A quick question for haku_theBlack Sir.

There are many desi guys who come to U.S. straight in H1B status through those desi companies such as InfoSys and others. They had no U.S. education, OPT, CPT whatsoever. You see those guys in every corner of IT profession.
How did they get H1B straight? I am unclear on this.

haku_theblack,
To file H-1B you don't have to be working with the petitioner company. There are two scenarios and may be more but we will stick to the two since they are related here -
You can be working for any other company (with valid work authorization - either CPT, OPT, work permit, etc..), and still file H-1B with another company. But once you have approved H1-B, you have to work for petitioner company.
A company can also file H-1B for anyone (provided they are eligible) without a CPT or OPT or work permit. But then this person can only work from October 1st for that fiscal year, and has to maintain their own status until then. Think about this, a company can bring anyone from outside the US in H-1B from October 1st. They don't have work permit nor anything.

But, the likelihood of finding company ( even consulting company) that will file your H-1B and wait until October is very minimal. These days consulting company is reluctant to file H-1B even with just OPT/CPT because it is much strict. Usually they do for people who are in contract.

Hope this helps..

Hello Guys,
Please check with a Lawyer (IANAL) before you decide anything, however, AFAIK, H1B is for future employment and you don't have to be currently authorized to work or working for the petitioning company, that is how people come straight on H1B from India, I have friends that have come to US straight on H1B from Nepal as well. Having said that, it is however difficult to find an employer who would file H1B for you without you working for them for a while, but legally it is possible.

Hope that helps.

Nepali bhai,
These People are employee of International IT solution companies( Congnizant, Inofsys etc). These people works offshore, and their employee file H1b for them in India and send them to US their H1b gets approved with certain years of contract.

Thats all I know.

By the way...a1b2c3 -- check with your international advisor also because few years back (06, 07), I know 2 people who did Bachelors twice but were able to get OPT each time. When I asked them they said that if the two degrees are substantially different they can apply for OPT.
This might also depend on each college and how informed are those so called advisors ( some of them are like blank page).
And it makes all sense since OPT is given to have hands-on-experience in the filed of study. If I gradated with biology major and then again with business major; definitely I would need OPT again because my field of study is completely different and I need to gain experience. I know USCIS websites mentions one full term OPT per educational level, But you can always make a case.

Yes ... It is possible.

Just because there seems to misinformation flowing around here, let me give simple answer.

YES, employer can file H1B for you and you can work for them, once it is approved , from oct 1.

Now there are regulation and technicalities and details, let's not get there.

So far with what I know, you do not need to be working to file H1B. Once you find an employer who is willing to file you a H1 and given that you are granted, you can start working on h1b visa from October. If there was any scenario of person having a need to be in working status in US, or even working for some international IT companies, there would never be any H4's in US filing for H1. Remember H4 cannot work on any kind of circumstances, and they have their H1 approved.

So, good luck finding the employer!!!!!

Find a job in a company which is willing to file your H1B at April so that you can start working from Oct if it is approved.

Hello sathiharu,

Tapaiharulai dherai dherai dhanyabad for all those enlightening information. It really means a lot for me. STUPIDA ji, I googled a little bit about what you said about the chances of getting OPT two times if the two Master degrees are totally different, unfortunately what I found is the answer NO. But as you said I would rather talk to my international advisor about this issue. My previous degree was M.S in engineering and now I'm pursuing MBA. Looks like they are totally different, but in most of the results I found in google is that the USCIS rule for OPT offer only one time OPT for one level regardless of the field of study.

In many cases they also mentioned "using OPT completely". I am little bit confused about this. I returned back to Nepal 4 months after I got OPT, reapplied for F-1 visa again after 8 months of stay in Nepal. So will USICS consider my OPT was fully consumed or not? Please let me know if anyone got any idea about this.

Thanks.

a1b2c3 bro, last bhayo bro yati bela aayera yesto question sodhne hoina ne. It's already to late for this year and u want to wait for another year which is way to far from now. Best thing I would suggest u is to transfer to some university which offers CPT from first semester and join them. Get a job and apply for next year H1b. Again due to this lottery another bullshit, its tough to get H1b. If u are Ok, either apply for Asylum or marry a girl with US citizenship.

A1 Bro,
I explained you from my past experience, so its up to you to do proper research and follow uscis rules.

regards,
haku

I did not go through all these discussions but answering your question, "Yes, you can go to H1B directly from F1. I, indeed, did not take any OPT and moved directly from F1 to H1B. So, do not listen anything, just find ways to do that because it is possible and like I said earlier, I am saying this because I did it. Hope it helps. Please let me know, if I can be of any other help.

A1B2C3 bro,
which part of US do you reside? I could help you name some universities that will provide CPTs. In the meantime start some training on the area of IT you wanna be in, once you are ready transfer over to the CPT institution. Once you have that, there are employers eagerly waiting to place you in a job, as they benifit from your employment.

a1b2c3,

As you can't get H1b from normal quota for this year, there is always non-profit organization H1b called "Cap-Exempt H1b category". In this category, can file h1b any time of the year regardless of the H1b quota. Most of the University jobs non-profit organization (I heard some hospitals as well, not sure about that) are like that and they can file H1b any time of the year and can start working as soon as it approves.
But there are some down sides, if you want to transfer H1b to any private companies, you have to again go through H1b quotas. You can always transfer to another public institutions. I think, this is best choice in this type of situation.

Hope that helps.

Hello all,

Thanks for your responses. These are really helpful.
haku_theblack, thanks for your effort, I will do some more research..
GoneCrazy, thanks for your suggestion.
collegefootballrocks, was the company a consulting company or just a regular one who filed H1B for you? thank you.
silentblogger, I live in Texas. thanks.