Can I apply for H4 stamping in India while a pending I539 petition exists?

USA H4 Visa
1

Hello community,
I had a few questions and would really appreciate any thoughts/ experiences or advise regarding the matter.

I am currently on an H1b visa and my wife joined me on an H4 visa and our visas are valid till end of April, 2021. My company has filed an H1b extension petition for me in PP along with my wife’s H4 extension (I539) and H4EAD extension. I understand that I will receive my extension in a short time, but I was looking at wait times in Vermont center and looks like H4 extension processing times are from 10-14 months. My wife intends to go to grad school in Fall of 2021 and has received multiple admits from very good universities. Based on the current wait time, she may not receive her extension before her school starts.

In this situation, I wanted to explore our options:

  1. Is it possible to travel to India and fill out a DS 160 and get the H4 visa extension stamped to bypass this long extension process?
  2. Is it allowed to do the above if there is already an existing petition ? We saw in some cases, people have sent withdrawal letters to USCS to withdraw their existing H4 petition.
  3. If the above can be done, do we need to wait for an acknowledgement from USCIS about the withdrawal of the existing H4 petition before traveling to India and getting the stamping appointment?
  4. Are US embassies in India accepting visa stamping appointments for H4 ? I saw on the mumbai page that only emergency cases are being accepted ?
  5. Would there be any other potential issues which we could face when going for a stamping in India ?

Any advice/thoughts/comments here would be highly helpful to us and we would really appreciate it. Wishing everyone a wonderful new year !!

Kind regards,
Edwin

2

Hi Edwin, I have answered your questions below:

  1. Is it possible to travel to India and fill out a DS 160 and get the H4 visa extension stamped to bypass this long extension process?
    Yes, this is done frequently by many applicants tired of waiting for extension.
  2. Is it allowed to do the above if there is already an existing petition ? We saw in some cases, people have sent withdrawal letters to USCS to withdraw their existing H4 petition.
    Yes - it is the same petition, a withdrawal is not needed
  3. If the above can be done, do we need to wait for an acknowledgement from USCIS about the withdrawal of the existing H4 petition before traveling to India and getting the stamping appointment?
    A withdrawal is not required. You are not breaking any law
  4. Are US embassies in India accepting visa stamping appointments for H4 ? I saw on the mumbai page that only emergency cases are being accepted ?
    You have to research this further
  5. Would there be any other potential issues which we could face when going for a stamping in India ?
    None whatsoever except for the #4 point.
3

Thank you very much SShankar. I appreciate your response.