Travel when H4 visa is in process of extesnion

Hi,

I have H1 visa that is going to expire in February 2013. My wife has H4 visa that is going to expire in February 2013. My employer has applied for extension of both the visas(my H1 and her H4). Now due to family emergency she needs to travel to India. She is planning to be there for next few months. I have few questions:

  1. If she travels now will it affect my H1 visa also?

  2. If she travels now, do I have any chances of my H1 visa extension getting denied?

  3. Is it advisable to travel during this time?

  4. When she gives I-94 while travelling back, the one we have given during application process becomes invalid. So is there a chance she is going to get a renewed H4 visa without the extended I-94?

  5. Any other consequences?

Thanks for your help. Cheers.

  1. Her extension (which is basically I-94 extension) will be abandoned.

  2. Your H-1 extension will not be impacted by her travel.

  3. If she will be in India for few months, then she cannot return to US after Feb (which is when her visa stamp will also expire, I assume) unless she gets H-4 visa stamped from a consulate. This in turn requires your H-1 petition to get approved so that she can go for H-4 visa stamping.

4, 5. Refer above answers

If the travel cannot be avoided, then I suggest you file your H-1 w/ premium processing so that you can get the result by Feb/Mar. Later, she can appear for visa stamping and then return on stamped H-4 visa and copy of your latest 797. She will be issued a new I-94 based on the new 797.

When is her H-4 visa stamp expiring?

Thank you for the swift response. Both H4 visa stamp and corresponding I-94 are expiring in last week of February.

So if she plans to return after Feb, then she needs to go for H-4 visa stamping which in turn requires your approved 797.