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I have a few questions regarding H-1B visa stamping, green card, H-4, and the tricky situation that I'm in with respect to all these. Forgive the long post to follow, but I think the background is necessary to illuminate the case.
I graduated in the spring of 2008 with a master's in mechanical engineering, and soon after started working on OPT for an engineering services company in Dearborn, MI. The company applied for my H-1B in 2010, which came into effect on 22NOV2010, and is valid through 21NOV2013.
I was flagged for administrative processing (221g pink slip) while in Chennai in 2011 for my first visa stamping, but luckily, it came through in about 3 weeks. I suspect that I was chosen for a TAL check, because the visa officer asked for my resume, and there's an aerospace project in my history. Maybe I should remove that from my resume.
Anyway, the visa issue date is 28FEB2011 and the expiration date is 23FEB2013. Hence, the travel allowance on my H-1B visa has expired, although the petition is valid until 21NOV2013. Therefore, I cannot be admitted back into the country if I were to travel outside of it until my visa extension - which my company has applied for - has come through, and I have the new visa stamped in my passport.
I stupidly misunderstood the difference between the visa expiration date (23FEB2013) and petition expiration date (21NOV2013), and traveled to India last month to get engaged to a girl I'd been talking to for a while. I was skewered at immigration at the port of entry for this, but was offered a visa waiver, an I-193, which I gladly took to get back into the US.
The plan was to go back to India before November for the wedding, but I obviously can't do that now. The only recourse is to travel to India after my visa extension has come through, and endure another visa stamping ordeal. Also, my employer has applied for my green card, and the I-140 has been approved, and I'm waiting for my priority date to become current for the I-485 to be filed, which may happen soon.
My questions are:
1. Is it a good idea to attempt another H-1B visa stamping, having been chosen for administrative processing once, and especially after the I-140 has been approved? I understand that the H-1B visa is technically "dual intent," with immigration intent, but will this be a liability for me during my next interview/stamping? How do I handle a potential question along the lines of "do you plan to come back to India?"
2. If I were to be chosen for another round of administrative processing during my next stamping attempt, and if, worst case scenario, the visa never comes through, or takes forever to be issued as has happened in many cases, can the I-485 application and the green card process continue unaffected? What if I'm not in the US when the priority date becomes current and the I-485 application is due?
3. If my priority date were to become current before I'm able to travel to India next, would I have to ditch the ongoing green-card process just to be able to bring my fiance back on an H-4 visa?
4. Lastly, are there any other options to bring my fiance into the US and marry her here?
Again, please excuse the length of the post, and any help and/or advice is highly appreciated.
I graduated in the spring of 2008 with a master's in mechanical engineering, and soon after started working on OPT for an engineering services company in Dearborn, MI. The company applied for my H-1B in 2010, which came into effect on 22NOV2010, and is valid through 21NOV2013.
I was flagged for administrative processing (221g pink slip) while in Chennai in 2011 for my first visa stamping, but luckily, it came through in about 3 weeks. I suspect that I was chosen for a TAL check, because the visa officer asked for my resume, and there's an aerospace project in my history. Maybe I should remove that from my resume.
Anyway, the visa issue date is 28FEB2011 and the expiration date is 23FEB2013. Hence, the travel allowance on my H-1B visa has expired, although the petition is valid until 21NOV2013. Therefore, I cannot be admitted back into the country if I were to travel outside of it until my visa extension - which my company has applied for - has come through, and I have the new visa stamped in my passport.
I stupidly misunderstood the difference between the visa expiration date (23FEB2013) and petition expiration date (21NOV2013), and traveled to India last month to get engaged to a girl I'd been talking to for a while. I was skewered at immigration at the port of entry for this, but was offered a visa waiver, an I-193, which I gladly took to get back into the US.
The plan was to go back to India before November for the wedding, but I obviously can't do that now. The only recourse is to travel to India after my visa extension has come through, and endure another visa stamping ordeal. Also, my employer has applied for my green card, and the I-140 has been approved, and I'm waiting for my priority date to become current for the I-485 to be filed, which may happen soon.
My questions are:
1. Is it a good idea to attempt another H-1B visa stamping, having been chosen for administrative processing once, and especially after the I-140 has been approved? I understand that the H-1B visa is technically "dual intent," with immigration intent, but will this be a liability for me during my next interview/stamping? How do I handle a potential question along the lines of "do you plan to come back to India?"
2. If I were to be chosen for another round of administrative processing during my next stamping attempt, and if, worst case scenario, the visa never comes through, or takes forever to be issued as has happened in many cases, can the I-485 application and the green card process continue unaffected? What if I'm not in the US when the priority date becomes current and the I-485 application is due?
3. If my priority date were to become current before I'm able to travel to India next, would I have to ditch the ongoing green-card process just to be able to bring my fiance back on an H-4 visa?
4. Lastly, are there any other options to bring my fiance into the US and marry her here?
Again, please excuse the length of the post, and any help and/or advice is highly appreciated.
