H4 Stamping checklist and precautions

Dear Saurabh,

I got an RFE and on my H1 transfer and now the H1 B is approved successfully including my family’s I-539 extension. I was kind of worried as I was expecting that my I-94 would not be approved, but I got my I-94 as well.

My family is in India and I need to book a PA for them. Do I need to send the original H4 approval notices or just copies of them are fine.,

I hope I cannot send my H1 originals as it would make me out of status as I wont have i-94.

Also suggest if there would be any problems in stamping as i will not be going for stamping and I also had an RFE before the H1 was approved.

Please also note that I did a conversion from L1 to H1 and this is the 3rd H1 transfer I made in around 13 months of H1. Also, this will be first stamping in H1.

Please help ASAP as I am planning to book their PA. Earlier, My spouse had traveled in L2 through a very major IT company and she hardly had faced any serious questions from the visa officer and the PA were not more than 60 seconds.

Can I treat this as a normal PA or should I treat this more seriously with lot more documentation.

Thanks,

RR

I am surprised that they approved I-539 for your family when they are outside US. I-539 is approved only when the person was in US at the time of application and continues to remain inside US until it gets approved.

You should send them copy of your new 797, copy of old 797, copies of I-94s (new and old) along w/ rest of your H-1 and employment related documents (including payslips and W-2s). They don’t need your originals. Sending I-539 really doesn’t make sense as it seems to have been issued in error, but you can send their copies as well (if you like to).

It is ok for them to appear for stamping w/o you. Are you working for a big employer fulltime or working in EC or EVC model?

They were here when it was applied but I got an RFE and hence it took this long. I am working full time for an employer but not so big. Its a small employer but they have projects and clients on their own. Will this be a problem during their stamping??

These days, H-4 stampings should be treated w/ same seriousness as H-1 visa stamping. So send all the documents related to your H-1 and your employment including payslips, client/project details. In addition, they will need proof of relationship for your family.

Hopefully, they will not inquire much about the H-1 job, but she should be prepared in case they do.