H1 is in progress for my spouse and he is not in US now. Shall I bring him to US before H1 approved?

Hello All,

We have processed H1b for this year for my spouse and he is in India. My spouse is in India now and he got an RFE.

Is it a good idea to bring him to US in dependent visa before his H1 approved? If he comes to US, is it possible to change his visa status from H4 to H1 without going out of US.

Also, I would like to know how much is the cost for changing the visa status from H4 to H1?

He can enter US on H-4 before or after H-1 approval. It doesn’t matter.

If he enters on H-4 and H-1 is/gets approved, then COS can be applied for him. Once approved, he can start working on H-1 and not worry about stamping until he leaves US next.

Thank you Saurabh…
Do you have any idea about the cost for COS? And can we apply COS in premium?

Look-up I-539 on USCIS site for fees and processing times.

If only COS is applied, then no PP option is available.

If COS is applied along w/ cap-exempt petition (same or new employer), then PP option is available but it becomes lot more expensive (even w/o the PP fees).