H4 extension when H1B petition in progress

USA H1B Visa
1

Hi All

Need some time critical help on my current situation.

I am living in USA on H4 visa stamping with I 94 that expires on Dec 31st 2012. Also i have my H1B petition in progress. However its getting a little late this year to get the final H1b Status update. I believe it can take later than my I94 expiry which is Dec 31st 2012. So i cant wait till h1b results so i am applying for H4 extension through my spouse’s company. My spouse has H1B approved till Nov 2014. So my question is

  1. If i got my H1B approval before H4 Approval, does it void my H1B approval?

  2. Once i receive H1B approval (in case before Dec 31st ) should i wait for latest H4 approval for COS from H4 to H1 or i can go ahead before my H4 extension approval.

thanks

Tamil

2

  1. If you H-1 gets approved first w/ COS, then your status becomes H-1 from the date. If H-4 gets approved later, then your status flips back from H-1 to H-4 on that date.

  2. Is your H-1 not filed w/ COS? If it was filed and approved w/ COS then no action is required if it gets processed before Dec 31.

I would suggest talking to your attorney about the possibility of upgrading the petition to PP so that you get a timely response. If you do apply for H-4 extension, then make sure to withdraw it as soon as H-1 gets approved w/ COS.

3

Thanks Saurabh.

I did not have my I94 when applying for H1 since i was in India then. I have planned to file an amendment once H1 gets approved. Since that seems to get late, i have opted for H4 extension. So if H1 gets approved (without I94) and later my H4 extension comes in, can i file the amendment with the new I94 (that comes with H4 extension) ?

thanks…

4

Correct. You can get H-1 w/o I-94 now, file for H-4 extension and then apply for amendment (COS) from H-4 to H-1 later.

5

thanks for the timely help.