H1B approved petition/H4 visa application

[guptsam]

Hello,

I am working on an assignment in Houston on an H1B visa (valid till Nov
2014). My current employer is also planning to file an extension since the petition approval is valid till Nov only as well.

My wife who is also working for an Indian IT company also holds an approved
H1B petition , but her passport does not have the H1B visa stamped since
she is still awaiting for an opportunity to travel on the position her in
US.

I have the following queries around this scenario :

- Can she get her H4 visa stamped without affecting her approved H1B
petition which is valid till Dec 2016 ? Is USCIS authorized to cancel her
H1B approved petition based on her H4 visa application ? If she travels on
H4 visa to US and gets an opportunity from her current employer , does she
have to travel back to India to cancel her H4 and get her H1B visa stamped
on her passport ?

- Can she get her H1B approved petition transferred to another employer
being in India itself ?

- If applying for an H4 poses a risk in terms of cancellation of her H1B
appoved petition, I am planning to apply for a tourist visa so that she can
travel here to the US for a shorter duration.Is that feasible ? If yes, what is the process of change in status from a) tourist visa to H4 b) tourist visa to H1B being in the US itself.

[raghvi]

Hello,

I am working on an assignment in Houston on an H1B visa (valid till Nov
2014). My current employer is also planning to file an extension since the petition approval is valid till Nov only as well.

My wife who is also working for an Indian IT company also holds an approved
H1B petition , but her passport does not have the H1B visa stamped since
she is still awaiting for an opportunity to travel on the position her in
US.

I have the following queries around this scenario :

- Can she get her H4 visa stamped without affecting her approved H1B
petition which is valid till Dec 2016 ? Is USCIS authorized to cancel her
H1B approved petition based on her H4 visa application ? If she travels on
H4 visa to US and gets an opportunity from her current employer , does she
have to travel back to India to cancel her H4 and get her H1B visa stamped
on her passport ?

- Can she get her H1B approved petition transferred to another employer
being in India itself ?

- If applying for an H4 poses a risk in terms of cancellation of her H1B
appoved petition, I am planning to apply for a tourist visa so that she can
travel here to the US for a shorter duration.Is that feasible ? If yes, what is the process of change in status from a) tourist visa to H4 b) tourist visa to H1B being in the US itself.

She can apply H4 , no issues, and it should not be negatively treated just because she has an approved H1 petition.
Once in US on H4, she can use the existing approved H1 I797 to either file a H4 to H1 Change Of Status (COS) for existing employer or any other employer.
Even if she stay in India, another employer can file a Cap exempt H1 petition using existing H1 I797 to prove she is cap exempt, once the new employer's H1 I797 is approved she can go for stamping with new employer.

Dont complicate things by doing a visitor visa for her, she has much higher chances of getting an H4 and subsequently trying a H4 to H1 COS. Chances of a B1 approval and subsequently a successful B1 to H1 are very low.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[chandrakan]

She can apply H4 , no issues, and it should not be negatively treated just because she has an approved H1 petition.
Once in US on H4, she can use the existing approved H1 I797 to either file a H4 to H1 Change Of Status (COS) for existing employer or any other employer.
Even if she stay in India, another employer can file a Cap exempt H1 petition using existing H1 I797 to prove she is cap exempt, once the new employer's H1 I797 is approved she can go for stamping with new employer.

Dont complicate things by doing a visitor visa for her, she has much higher chances of getting an H4 and subsequently trying a H4 to H1 COS. Chances of a B1 approval and subsequently a successful B1 to H1 are very low.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

I want to know the details like whether COS from H4 to H1B is like processing the new H1b under non cap and how much it will cost.