Hi Poonam,

I was also on H1B and got laid off last week. So here is what I know, you are out of status the day you got laid off but there is a 10 days grace period inwhich you have to find other job or change status to F1/F2. I  did mine to F2. Once you change to F1/F2, then if you find a job within one year, you still need to apply for H1 but do not have go through lottory and wait until october as you are already selected. You will just apply for H1B and as soon as it is approved ( which does not take that long), you can work. I did not join consultancy because I heard bad things about it and since you can apply for job even if you are in F2 and do not have to go through lottory.