RFE on H-1B change of employer (premium processing) — pending I-539 “bridge” issue. How did you respond, and what was the outcome?
Looking for experiences from anyone who has been through this exact RFE scenario.
Timeline:
• Laid off from previous H-1B employer earlier this year, used the 60-day grace period.
• Filed an I-539 (change of status) within the grace period. It’s still pending.
• New employer filed an H-1B change of employer + extension of stay petition (premium processing) about 2.5 months later, while the I-539 was pending.
• Just received an RFE. It’s not about specialty occupation or the job itself — it’s purely about status. USCIS says my status expired at the end of the grace period and wants one of: (1) proof of a final decision on the I-539, (2) proof I responded to any notice on it, or (3) evidence I was otherwise in valid status when the I-129 was filed.
• The RFE itself says that if the deadline arrives and the I-539 is still undecided, we should respond and state that.
Given I-539 processing times, there’s basically no chance it gets decided before the RFE deadline. So my questions for anyone who’s been here:
1. Did you respond stating the I-539 was still pending? What happened — petition approved for consular notification, COS approved anyway, or something else?
2. Did anyone successfully expedite the I-539 or get it adjudicated faster because of the pending I-129?
3. If you ended up with consular processing, how long did the whole thing take (leaving, visa appointment, re-entry, start date)?
4. Anyone have USCIS excuse the gap under the “extraordinary circumstances” discretion (8 CFR 214.1(c)(4)) for a layoff situation?
Attorney is handling the response — just want to calibrate expectations on outcomes and timelines from people who’ve lived it. Thanks!