H1B to H4, Can the old H1B be still be transferred later

[iray81]

Hello,

Both my wife and myself are working in H1B visa in US. My wife would like to take a break for few months (3-4 months) and come as dependent as H4 under my H1B resigning from her existing company. Can she again utilize her old approved H1B to be transferred to a new employer after the break and continue working in US.

If I want to explain with an example of dates -

My H1B - Valid till 2017 (with company ABC)
My Wife's H1B - Valid till 2018 (with company XYZ)

My wife takes a break and comes under H4 of my H1B- April, 2015 (with company ABC)
My wife comes back to work with a new employer - Sept, 2015 (Company PQR)

Can she be able to use her old H1B petition with Company XYZ to be transferred to Company PQR? Does USCIS immigration rules approve that?

Regards
Dibyendu

[hariomhari]

Hello,

Both my wife and myself are working in H1B visa in US. My wife would like to take a break for few months (3-4 months) and come as dependent as H4 under my H1B resigning from her existing company. Can she again utilize her old approved H1B to be transferred to a new employer after the break and continue working in US.

If I want to explain with an example of dates -

My H1B - Valid till 2017 (with company ABC)
My Wife's H1B - Valid till 2018 (with company XYZ)

My wife takes a break and comes under H4 of my H1B- April, 2015 (with company ABC)
My wife comes back to work with a new employer - Sept, 2015 (Company PQR)

Can she be able to use her old H1B petition with Company XYZ to be transferred to Company PQR? Does USCIS immigration rules approve that?

Regards
Dibyendu

Yes , she can recapture her H1B later whenever she want to resume work. She can do H1-H4-H1. Time spend on H4 will not count against 6 years max period of H1B.

[heet_pink]

Hi,

I have a very similar situation as Dibyendu here. My wife too wants to take a break from her job and file H4 CoS under my H1B. However, I have observed that USCIS takes atleast 8 to 9 months to adjudicate the CoS application. So my question is,

If she resigns after 1 month of filing CoS, will the period between her resignation and adjudication date (or effective date for that matter) will still be counted as unused within that 6 years period of H1B?

Please help us understand our situation here so that we can decide how long she will have to work after filing CoS.

Thanks,
Hitesh

[shervin143]

USCIS doesn't take 8-9 months to adjudicate the COS. They usually only take 2-3 months. Once H4 COS is filed and you receive the H4 receipt notice, you can stop working. H4 COS if approved will come with an effective date as mentioned in form I-539.

Example: If the H4 receipt date is 08/05/2015 and USCIS approves the COS on 11/05/2015. In most cases, the effective date printed in the approval notice will be from 08/05/2015 until the primary H1B holder's H1B petition expiry date.

Hi,

I have a very similar situation as Dibyendu here. My wife too wants to take a break from her job and file H4 CoS under my H1B. However, I have observed that USCIS takes atleast 8 to 9 months to adjudicate the CoS application. So my question is,

If she resigns after 1 month of filing CoS, will the period between her resignation and adjudication date (or effective date for that matter) will still be counted as unused within that 6 years period of H1B?

Please help us understand our situation here so that we can decide how long she will have to work after filing CoS.

Thanks,
Hitesh