Can I apply for h4 extension while h1 is under process.

USA H1B Visa
1

Hi Sourabh,

My wife is holding h4 visa which is valid till oct 23rd 2013.

We have applied for her H1 with cos through another company and it got selected in lottery and status is initial review .

  1. can I apply for her h4 extension along wih my h1 extension?

  2. what will happen if h1 get approved first and then h4 extension before/ after oct 1st 2013.

  3. what will happen if h4 extension get approved before oct 1st and then h1 get approved?

  4. what will happen If her h4 extension got approved after oct 1st?

Thanks a lot for your time for looking into this.

Regards,

harinath

2

  1. Yes, you can apply for H-4 extension but IMO, you still have sometime in hand to decide whether to spend money on her extension or not

  2. You will have to see what the start date of both I-94s is in this case. The one that has a later start date will go into effect from that date.

  3. Same as (2)

  4. Same as (3)

What you can do is wait for sometime to see if her H-1 gets approved. If not, you can upgrade it to PP to get quicker result. If H-1 gets denied, then file for extension; else don’t file for any.

3

Thanks a lot Saurabh.
I have a quick question on this. Since current h4 is valid till Oct 23rd, I think I-94 start date will be from Oct24th2013 while H1 I94 start date might be from Oct1st. In this case I am assuming that I need to apply for COS again for H1.

BY the way I am applying for H1extension though my company , and they prefer to apply for my wife’s h4 extension at the same time.

4

Yes, that is correct. You can apply for H-4 extension now, and then decide to take one of the following steps in future:

  • upgrade H-1 to PP and if approved, withdraw H-4 extension
  • don’t upgrade H-1 to PP and if approved, withdraw H-4 extension
  • file separate COS if H-4 extension cannot be withdrawn

Talk to your H-1 attorney if they are ok to withdraw just the H-4 extension if the need be. Then talk to your wife’s H-1 attorney if they are ok to file separate COS if the need be.