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> This petition is almost always approved and not impacted by the CAP, but you need it to work for them.

I'm confused what you mean by "safely". The only way it could be safer than that is if there were no approvals required from anyone to transfer.

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While a petition for a worker already in the H1B status is almost always accepted, there is still a chance that it doesn't work. There is a chance that it takes a long time to go through (usually a month or 2, but we're talking about the USCIS here :) ).

I changed employer twice with an H1B, and both times I made damn sure that the petition was approved before giving a notice (also, back then there was no official grace period, but I would have done the same).

right, but you can pay to have the decision expedited. it's rumoured this increases the risk of an RFE, so YMMV.

i think timing plays some sort of role, too. from a very small sample size, between December to April, transfers go pretty quickly. not hard to imagine the USCIS' load is higher from April to maybe October

My team hired a Chinese engineer a little over a year ago. It took almost 4 months for them to join after my lead first mentioned giving her an offer.

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