Is H1 Amendment required for client change?

Hi,

I’m in H1 visa and currently working for the client A at Sunnyvale location. Since, my project is going to end within a month, I’m looking for the new projects in my company. I found that there is an opening for a client B at San Ramon location which is in 50 miles radius.

My question is,

  1. Should I need to ‘amend’ my visa, since there is a client change?

  2. My current visa is valid till 2021, if my new project is a short-term project, will it affect my visa dates?

I should raise this question to my visa team.

However if my Visa dates affects by this change, then I’ll consider to keep working with Client A and find another project within Client A.

Thanks,
Venkatesh

File H1B amendment or not for client change?

Officially, USCIS says that if there is a ‘material’ change in your H1B job, you should file for amendment.

The 50 miles is not the criteria, but different MSA (metropolitan Statistical Area) is for the ‘Job Work Location’ change.

I would suggest that you should file for H1B amendment as your client and the project details will change with new client.
These days, USCIS is pretty strict with H1B applications and you never know if they will create an issue later or not.

Will Current H1B validity be affected by H1B amendment

Yes, it will be affected.

Each H1B amendment is same as new H1B application and the approval validity MIGHT be restricted to client’s project length.

But, remember, your old H1B application still remains valid if you are NOT changing the employer.
You can always go back to Client A, Employer A combination.

Employer is only required to withdraw the H1B application if the employee is NOT working for them.
If you ares till with same employer, they probably would keep the old H1B approval intact while you may file amendment for working with Client B.

@Anil_Gupta - Thanks for your reply. I’ll try to get a project with my current client then :slight_smile:

If Client A/Project A and Client B/Project-B comes under same MSA then what should be done?
LCA is option there or not?

As per my opinion, client change is a ‘material change’ in your H1B job and you should file H1B amendment.

The views do vary on this specific point though.
But, I personally recommend filing amendment as you can never guess what USCIS will analyze it as.