H-1B Transfer: How Portability Works When Changing Employers

An H-1B transfer is shorthand for a change-of-employer petition: the new employer files its own Form I-129, and nothing is moved from the previous approval. What carries over is the cap number – a worker already counted against the annual cap does not re-enter the lottery. The mechanism that makes a job change practical is portability under AC21: once a nonfrivolous petition is properly filed, the worker may begin employment with the new employer without waiting for approval.

Status as of October 26, 2026. Eligible H-1B workers can still change U.S. employers through a properly filed I-129 portability petition and may begin work without waiting for the new petition's approval. A September 18, 2026 presidential proclamation extended an entry-related $100,000 payment policy through September 2027, but courts have vacated or enjoined the agency implementation of the payment; it is not the ordinary price of a qualifying domestic H-1B transfer. Separately, DHS proposed ending the 60-day grace period on September 11. That proposal is not yet law: the current 60-day regulation remains operative, with public comments open until November 10, 2026.

What changed for H-1B transfers in September 2026?

The $100,000 proclamation is not a general domestic transfer fee. It concerns certain H-1B entrants from abroad, and implementing policies are subject to the September 30 court injunction and appellate litigation. A prospective international trip or consular case requires new verification. The 60-day grace-period repeal has only been proposed, not finalized, so the existing up-to-60-calendar-day rule still applies, subject to the authorized validity end date and DHS discretion. Employers considering a change-of-employer filing must still establish specialty occupation eligibility and a certified LCA. For layoffs see H-1B 60-day grace period.

How portability works

Three conditions carry the mechanism. The worker must have been lawfully admitted to the United States and be in valid H-1B status – or within an authorized grace period – when the new petition is filed. The worker must not have engaged in unauthorized employment. And the new employer must file a nonfrivolous I-129 on the worker's behalf, supported by a Labor Condition Application certified by the Department of Labor for the new position, worksite, and wage.

Once that petition is properly filed, employment with the new employer may begin. Work authorization under portability runs while the petition is pending and ends if it is denied. Because the position is judged on its own merits, the new employer must independently establish that the role is a specialty occupation and that the worker qualifies for it – the earlier approval does not carry that showing forward.

Successive moves are possible on the same logic: a second change-of-employer petition can be filed while the first is still pending, producing what practitioners call bridge petitions. The chain is only as sound as its weakest link – a denial anywhere along it affects everything filed afterward, which is why sequencing matters more here than in a single filing.

The 60-day grace period

When employment ends before the petition's validity expires, DHS regulations authorize a discretionary grace period of up to 60 consecutive days, or until the end of the authorized validity period, whichever is shorter. It is available once per authorized validity period, and it runs from the last day of employment – not from the end of severance pay, accrued leave, or continued benefits.

During that window the worker may have a new employer file a change-of-employer petition, apply to change to another nonimmigrant status, or depart. If the I-94 expires before the 60 days run out, the earlier date governs. Separately, an employer that terminates an H-1B worker before the end of the authorized period is liable for the reasonable cost of return transportation abroad. What the grace period looks like in practice after a layoff is covered in the piece on the 60 days after losing an H-1B job.

Where transfers go wrong

The recurring failure is timing. A new employer needs time to make an offer, obtain a certified LCA, and prepare the petition; a filing made in the last days of the grace period leaves no margin if a document is missing. The second is a material change – a new worksite outside the area of intended employment, or a substantially different role – which requires an amended petition rather than reliance on the existing approval.

The third is a denial while working under portability: authorization generally ends at that point, and the fallback depends on remaining I-94 validity, whether a grace period is still available, and whether another petition can be filed quickly. How the cap and lottery side works, for those not yet counted against it, is covered in the H-1B lottery; the category overall is in the H-1B section.

Is a new lottery required to change employers?

No. A worker already counted against the annual cap keeps that count, and a change-of-employer petition is filed outside the registration cycle at any time of year. Cap-exempt employers are outside the cap in any event.

When can work for the new employer begin?

Upon proper filing of a nonfrivolous change-of-employer petition, not upon approval – that is the substance of AC21 portability. Employment eligibility verification at the new employer is completed on the strength of the receipt notice together with the existing I-94. If the petition is later denied, authorization to work for that employer ends.

Does the previous employer have to agree?

No. The petition is filed by the new employer, and the previous employer's consent is not part of the process. The previous employer does notify USCIS when employment ends, and the previous petition may be withdrawn – which is why filing before that withdrawal takes effect, while still in status, matters for the timing.

What happens to a pending green card case?

A change of employer does not erase an approved I-140's priority date, which the beneficiary can generally retain for a later employment-based petition, subject to limited exceptions tied to revocation. Whether an adjustment application already pending can continue with the new employer depends on separate portability rules with their own conditions, and that combination is assessed with a licensed attorney.