Procedure to apply for F2 to H4 Change of Status

USA L1, L2 Visa
1

Hello all,

I am on F1 OPT currently and my H1b petition got approved on May 26th, 2016(yesterday). My wife lives with me in the U.S on F2 visa. I have below questions,

1.) My OPT expires on May 30, 2016. My OPT Extension got approved and it will expire on Oct 30, 2017. My wife’s F2 expires on 2018. Does that mean my wife can stay till Oct 30, 2017 or Oct 1, 2017(h1b start date) whichever is earlier on F2 visa?
2.) What is the process to apply for F2 to H4 Change of Status?
3.) Is there a way to apply online?
4.) I believe the earliest date of H1b visa to kick off is October 1, 2017. Hence, before Oct 1 my wife’s H4 should be approved or else she has to leave country, correct?
5.) I know the approval time is case by case basis, but I just want to know, am I late for applying H4?

Thanks,
VJ

2

  1. Given the current set-up, she can stay only until Sep 30, 2016 as your F-1 ceases after that. I assume your H-1 was approved w/ COS.

  2. You need to complete form I-539 and file it along w/ fees. See if your employer will support the filing and then they can do it. This would take care of the problem highlighted in (1)

  3. Paper filing only

  4. It will kick in on Oct 1, 2016 and that too if your COS has been approved. If not, it will remain dormant and you would remain on F-1 status. As long as wife’s COS is pending, she should be fine.

  5. You are not late and still have lot of time. In future, whenever you apply for a petition for yourself (H-1 transfer, H-1 extension etc), include your wife at that point. You could have avoided all this had your employer included your wife in your original H-1 filing.

3

Hello Saurabh,

Thanks a lot for your comment.

I agree with your points. I have few clarifications/questions, please let me reply to each point. If you can clarify them it would be great;

1.) I am not sure of the H-1 was approved with Change of Status(COS). How do I ensure whether it was approved with Change of Status?

2.) My employer said they will not do the dependent H4 filing, that is the reason I did not do it with my application.

3.) Thanks for the clarification.

4.) I think this again links with my first question, how to know if my COS got approved?

5.) Glad to know I am not late. If my employer supported dependent filing, yes as you said I could have avoided this hassle.

P.S. I will mark your comment as answer once our conversation is over.

Thanks,
VJ

4

  1. Wait for approval notice to be received. If it has an I-94 attached to the bottom, then it was approved w/ COS.

  2. See (1)

5

Perfect, many thanks! I will wait for my approval letter then and start filling up i539 document.

6

Hey Saurabh,

I have filled 90% of the I-539 application. However, I need some clarification on some of the questions before answering them. Will calling USCIS National Customer Server Center number help? If not what are my other options to get my questions clarified?

Thanks in advance!

7

Can anyone share I-539 application template for F-2 to H-4?