I was on H1-B and recently got laid off. I have TPS and have applied for TPS EAD.

Do I need to do anything before 60 days period to switch to TPS ? I assume it is automatic.
If I find another employer past my 60 days, how different would be the H1B application process?

If anyone has experience/opinion on this, please share.

Thanks,
Jemaraj

There is no "switching" to TPS per se. Once you use the TPS EAD, you are on TPS and your H1b is technically gone. But if you wait for another employer and they file timely for your H1b you should be able to continue on your H1b, provided that the petition gets approved. The catch is that once you use TPS EAD, your H1b should technically be violated. But that only happens if you actually report this usage. There is no tracking system to check if you have used TPS EAD.

Once your new employer files for your H1b within the 60 days you should be locked in for being able to maintaining your H1b. I would refrain from using TPS unless absolutely necessary, because TPS has a few disadvantages.

Jemaraj,

Since you have TPS, you don't have to worry about your status. Good thing is you can always switch back to H1B whenever you want (Some constraint apply, like staying out of US for more than a year- do some research on this). H1B is for 6 years of time not the time window. I would recommend, if you do not have any dependents, use TPS and once you come to the end of TPS you can switch back to H1B.

Another good thing is you will not be subject to cap. You can use your EAD without any consequence. Using TPS will make your life way more easier since you can work with any employer and change job without any hassle.

No need to panic. go thru this official documents once;
https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-13593/0-0-0-13813.html

Cheers!
Hope this help

In this case, I guess it will take some time get TPS EAD, right? Especially in this pandemic, USCIS is closed. Even in normal time, it took 4-5 month for EAD to arrive.

I'm also in H1B (and TPS) and I am anticipating a layoff in the coming months. I'm thinking maybe I should apply TPS EAD now as an insurance.

Thank you pyackman, captainB and westcoastlad.

Yes, an attorney said the same. I will not worry much about getting back from TPS to H1-B if I get job past the 60 day period. My wife started using EAD for TPS (she was on H4) a while back.

@westcoastlad, I was anticipating a layoff and applied of for EAD on mid-April. Got text on Monday for receipt (3+ weeks) and case status shows card in production as of yesterday. So they are doing it fast.

-Jemaraj.