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H-1B Transfer to a New Employer: How to Port Your Visa in 2026
If you have a job offer from a new employer, you can begin working for them as soon as that employer properly files Form I-129 with USCIS, before your current H-1B status expires. You don't need to wait for approval first. This is possible because of a provision known as H-1B portability, and it's the mechanism behind everything else in this guide: who qualifies, what your new employer has to file, what happens if you were laid off or your transfer petition is denied, and how a pending green card case changes the calculus.
This guide covers what H-1B portability actually allows, the eligibility rules that gate it, the step-by-step filing process (including who pays and how long it takes), why the 240-day rule doesn't cover transfers the way many people assume, and how the process plays out in the specific situations you're most likely to be in: a layoff, a denial, or a pending green card application.
Key Takeaways
Portability lets you start a new job once your new employer properly files Form I-129. You don't have to wait for USCIS approval.
To qualify, you need lawful H-1B status, no gap of unauthorized work, and a petition filed before your current authorized stay expires, backed by a certified LCA covering the same work.
Transfer petitions are cap-exempt and can be filed at any point in the year.
The 240-day rule does not cover transfers. It only extends work authorization for a same-employer extension.
A layoff starts a 60-day grace period (or until your Form I-94 expires, whichever is shorter), but you have no work authorization until your new employer's petition is filed.
If a transfer petition is denied, you can only keep working if your prior employer's petition is still valid, unexpired, and hasn't been withdrawn.
With a Green Card case pending 180 days or more on an approved or approvable-when-filed Form I-140, AC21 Section 106(c) lets you move to a same-or-similar job without a new labor certification, but your new employer still needs its own H-1B petition.
The $100,000 H-1B fee is currently blocked in litigation and, in any case, exempts petitions and visas dated before September 21, 2025. Confirm its current status before relying on it.
What Is H-1B Portability?
H-1B portability is the rule that lets you change jobs without a gap in your work authorization, and it comes from a specific law: Section 105 of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), codified at Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 214(n). Under this provision, once a new employer properly files Form I-129 on your behalf, you're authorized to start that job immediately, while the petition is still pending with USCIS. Employers commonly wait for the official receipt notice (Form I-797C) as documentary proof the filing went through before letting you start, but the law itself ties your work authorization to the filing date, not the approval date.
Because you were already counted against the annual H-1B numerical cap under your original employer's petition, a transfer petition doesn't go through the cap or the lottery a second time. Your new employer can file it at any point in the year, not just during the spring cap-registration cycle.
Who Is Eligible to Transfer an H-1B to a New Employer?
Not every H-1B holder qualifies to transfer to a new employer using portability. To qualify, you need to meet four conditions set by USCIS and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL):
You were lawfully admitted to the U.S. in H-1B status.
You haven't worked without authorization at any point since your last admission.
Your new employer files its petition before your current authorized period of stay expires.
The new employer's Form I-129 petition is filed together with an unexpired, DOL-certified Labor Condition Application (LCA), filed as Form ETA-9035, that covers the same work you'll be doing in the new role.
If any one of these conditions isn't met, portability doesn't apply to your situation.
How Do You Transfer Your H-1B to a New Employer? Step by Step
Transferring your H-1B to a new employer comes down to one filing your new employer controls, but there are five concrete steps between a signed offer and your first day of work under portability.
Confirm your eligibility. Your new employer can't file a portable transfer petition unless you meet the conditions above: lawful admission, no unauthorized work, and a petition filed before your current status expires.
Your new employer files an LCA with the DOL. Using Form ETA-9035, the employer attests to wage and working-condition terms for your role. The DOL certifies a complete, error-free LCA within 7 working days of receipt, and that certified LCA has to accompany the H-1B petition.
Your new employer files Form I-129 with USCIS. This is the actual transfer petition. Federal law makes the employer, not you, responsible for the I-129 filing fee and any attorney costs tied to preparing it. If an employer shifts these costs onto you in a way that drops your pay below the required wage, DOL treats it as an unauthorized deduction, which can trigger civil penalties or program disqualification. The base USCIS filing fee is $780 for employers with 26 or more full-time employees, and $460 for employers with fewer than 26.
You can start your new job once the petition is filed. Your work authorization under portability begins the day USCIS receives the properly filed petition, not the day it's approved. Most employers still wait for the I-797C receipt notice as proof before setting your start date.
Consider premium processing if timing is tight. For an extra fee, USCIS guarantees a decision, an approval, a denial, or a Request for Evidence (RFE), within 15 business days of accepting the case under premium processing (Form I-907). That fee rose from $2,805 to $2,965 for filings postmarked on or after March 1, 2026. An RFE resets the 15-business-day clock, so a request for more evidence can push the guaranteed decision window well past the original 15 days.
Does the 240-Day Rule Apply to an H-1B Transfer?
The 240-day rule that lets some H-1B workers keep working past their status expiration date does not cover an employer-to-employer transfer. It applies only when the same employer files a timely extension to continue the same job without any change. USCIS ties the 240-day extension specifically to continuing employment with the employer that already has an approved petition for you, not to a new employer picking up your case. If you're changing employers, the provision that lets you keep working while your petition is pending is H-1B portability, not the 240-day rule.
The two rules protect different people. The 240-day rule protects someone staying in the same job with the same employer whose extension is taking longer than expected. Portability protects someone starting a new job with a new employer as soon as that employer's petition is filed. If a same-employer extension is still pending after 240 days, the worker's automatic work authorization from that rule ends, and they have to stop working until USCIS decides the case, unless another basis for work authorization applies.
What Happens to an H-1B Transfer If You're Laid Off?
A layoff changes the timeline on an H-1B transfer because it starts a second clock beyond your normal status expiration date: the 60-day grace period. When your H-1B employment ends, whether by resignation or layoff, federal regulations provide a discretionary grace period of up to 60 consecutive days, or until your Form I-94 (your official record of authorized stay) expires, whichever is shorter.
That clock starts running the day after your last day of actual, paid work, not from the last day of severance pay or benefits. During the grace period itself, you have no work authorization. You can't work for anyone, including a new employer, until that new employer's transfer petition is properly filed with USCIS, which is what triggers portability-based work authorization.
Timing matters here. A new employer's transfer petition has to reach USCIS before your 60-day grace period, or your remaining Form I-94 validity if that's shorter, runs out for portability to apply. Filing on the very last permissible day carries a specific risk: USCIS could approve the underlying petition but deny an accompanying extension or change of status, which would require you to leave the U.S., obtain a new visa stamp, and re-enter before starting the new job. Filing earlier in the window avoids that particular risk.
What Happens If Your H-1B Transfer Petition Is Denied?
A denied H-1B transfer petition affects your status differently depending on whether your original job is still available. If your prior employer's H-1B petition for you is still valid, unexpired, and hasn't been withdrawn, you can generally continue working there under the terms of that existing approval.
If you don't have that fallback, a denial is more serious. USCIS doesn't automatically grant a new 60-day grace period simply because a transfer petition was denied. Your work authorization and lawful status end with the denial decision, or when your 240-day count runs out if that rule applied to you, whichever comes first. At that point you'd need to secure a new sponsor immediately, change to a different status, or leave the U.S. Because the outcome depends heavily on your specific circumstances at the time of denial, getting a case-specific read from an immigration attorney is worth doing before you decide what to do next.
Can You Transfer Your H-1B If You Have a Pending Green Card Case?
A pending Green Card (permanent residency) case adds one more condition to an H-1B transfer: whether your new job counts as the same or similar to the one your case is built on. Under AC21 Section 106(c), if you have a pending Form I-485 (Green Card application) that's been on file for 180 days or more, based on an approved, or approvable-when-filed, Form I-140 (the immigrant petition behind most employment-based Green Card cases), you can change jobs or employers without a new labor certification or Form I-140. The requirement is that your new position falls in the same or similar occupational classification as the one your I-140 was based on.
USCIS doesn't decide "same or similar" by job title alone. It looks at the totality of the circumstances: job duties, required experience and education, and Department of Labor Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes and occupational data, to compare the new role against the old one.
Porting your Green Card case under Section 106(c) doesn't extend your H-1B status by itself. Your new employer generally still has to file its own H-1B petition for you, which is exempt from the annual cap since you were already counted in a prior year, so that you hold valid H-1B status while your Green Card application remains pending.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my new H-1B employer need to file during the annual cap season?
No. A transfer petition isn't subject to the H-1B numerical cap or lottery, because you were already counted against the cap under a previous petition. Your new employer can file at any time of year.
Can I start my new job before my H-1B transfer is approved?
Yes. Your work authorization begins on the date your new employer properly files Form I-129 with USCIS, not the date it's approved. Many employers wait for the I-797C receipt notice as proof before setting your start date.
Who pays for my H-1B transfer, me or my new employer?
Your employer. Federal law requires the sponsoring employer to cover the I-129 filing fee and related attorney costs. Shifting those costs onto you in a way that cuts your pay below the required wage can expose the employer to DOL penalties.
Does the 240-day rule protect me while my transfer petition is pending?
No. The 240-day rule only covers a same-employer extension of your current job. It doesn't apply to a change of employer. Portability is what lets you keep working during a pending transfer petition.
How long does an H-1B transfer take with premium processing?
USCIS guarantees a response, an approval, a denial, or an RFE, within 15 business days of accepting a premium-processing case. An RFE resets that clock, so the actual timeline can run longer.
Does the $100,000 H-1B fee apply when I switch employers?
As of this writing, no. The fee is blocked nationwide after a federal court vacated it in June 2026 and an appeals court declined to pause that ruling in July 2026. It also exempts petitions and visas dated before September 21, 2025. Confirm the current status before relying on it, since it changed more than once during 2026.
What to Do Next With Your H-1B Transfer
An H-1B transfer comes down to one filing your new employer controls: a properly submitted Form I-129 backed by a certified LCA, filed before your current status or grace period runs out. Once that petition is filed, portability lets you start the new job without waiting on a decision. The situations that complicate that basic process, a layoff, a denial, or a pending green card case, each change your timeline and your fallback options. Map your specific situation against the rules above before your new employer files, and if your case involves a layoff, a prior denial, or a pending green card application, get a case-specific read from an immigration attorney before you act.