Regd. H1B/H4EAD

Hello Experts.

Need your advice on the following.

I travelled to USA on H4 visa last year. I had applied for H4 EAD and travelled back to home country. In between, I got my H1B picked up, completed visa stamping (through a consultancy) and yet travel to USA on H1B. Now, I have received my H4 EAD valid for another year. My question is

  1. Can I travel to USA on H4 visa and start working with H4 EAD?

  2. If I travel on H4, what happens to my H1B visa?

  3. Can I do change of status from H4 to H1 at a later time while I am in USA? How difficult this will be?

Appreciate your responses.

Thanks for your time and help!

Yes you can if your H4 visa is still valid. In this case you can use primary H1B ( spouse) I-797 so that the CBP can issue I-94 matching the end date of the H1B I-797 of your spouse. You need to tell the CBP officer that you will be using H4 visa for entry that way you will be admitted on H4 status rather than H1B.

Visa will stay valid till it expires. Remember that visa is just a travel document required to enter the US. It doesn’t govern your status while you are in the US. I-94 ( attached to the I-797 approval notice or issued by CBP at port of entry) governs your status while you are in the US.

Yes you can.

Should be no issue if all your documents are in-line with the H1B job being offered, the employment is bonafide and the employer has the ability to pay you.

Thank you so much Kalpesh!