H1B to H4 CoS effective date

[heet_pink]

Hi,

I need expert advice or an answer from whoever has experienced the similar situation.

My wife is currently on H1B visa valid till Feb 2016. She is planning to resign from job and change the status from H1B to H4. I have following questions regarding this CoS.

1. If we file her CoS right away, can we put an effective date on I-539 as 2 months from now, i.e Oct 2015?

2. If her CoS application decision comes after lets say 8 months from filing the application, will USCIS still consider an effective date as Oct 2015?

3. Will her H1B validity period that is left unused between Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 will still be valid to use in future against the total of 6 yrs H1B period?

Please help us understand our options here.

Thanks,
Hitesh

[shervin143]

1. If we file her CoS right away, can we put an effective date on I-539 as 2 months from now, i.e Oct 2015?
>>> Yes.

2. If her CoS application decision comes after lets say 8 months from filing the application, will USCIS still consider an effective date as Oct 2015?
>>> Yes. But why will it take 8 months for the COS to get approved? usually it takes only 2-3 months.

3. Will her H1B validity period that is left unused between Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 will still be valid to use in future against the total of 6 yrs H1B period?
>>> Yes.

[heet_pink]

1. If we file her CoS right away, can we put an effective date on I-539 as 2 months from now, i.e Oct 2015?
>>> Yes.

2. If her CoS application decision comes after lets say 8 months from filing the application, will USCIS still consider an effective date as Oct 2015?
>>> Yes. But why will it take 8 months for the COS to get approved? usually it takes only 2-3 months.

3. Will her H1B validity period that is left unused between Oct 2015 and Feb 2016 will still be valid to use in future against the total of 6 yrs H1B period?
>>> Yes.

Thanks @shervin143.

1. I am really confused about possibility of #1 right now after visiting different forums and answers to that question. Apparently some people says that it is not possible to request USCIS (through I-539) for a specific Effective Date for H4 CoS. Are you sure it is really possible?

2. Regarding your answers to question 2: It seems that right now there is a huge backlog for I-539 applications at Vermont Service Center and the approval takes 10 months. The current processing date for I-539 is still October 13, 2014.

So looking at this approval rate if she resigns in Oct 2015, she will have to wait at least for another 8 months for approval that is the reason I asked if those 8 months would be considered toward H1B or H-4 (provided USCIS put its own Effective Date)?

Thanks,
Hitesh

[kabkaba]

Thanks @shervin143.

1. I am really confused about possibility of #1 right now after visiting different forums and answers to that question. Apparently some people says that it is not possible to request USCIS (through I-539) for a specific Effective Date for H4 CoS. Are you sure it is really possible?

2. Regarding your answers to question 2: It seems that right now there is a huge backlog for I-539 applications at Vermont Service Center and the approval takes 10 months. The current processing date for I-539 is still October 13, 2014.

So looking at this approval rate if she resigns in Oct 2015, she will have to wait at least for another 8 months for approval that is the reason I asked if those 8 months would be considered toward H1B or H-4 (provided USCIS put its own Effective Date)?

Thanks,
Hitesh

Earlier it was not possible to officially request a start date. But the new version of the form allows a future effective date request.

Yes, current processing times for I-539 are very long (8 to 9 months for Vermont center), so putting 2 months forward effective date makes no real difference anyway. Most likely if no specific date is requested, they will make it effective on the day they approve it. But she will not be considered out of status once the application is received by USCIS.

If you want to really control it, a better option is to leave, obtain H4 Visa and return.

[shervin143]

1. I am really confused about possibility of #1 right now after visiting different forums and answers to that question. Apparently some people says that it is not possible to request USCIS (through I-539) for a specific Effective Date for H4 CoS. Are you sure it is really possible?
>>> There is a very easy way for you to confirm this. Look at form I-539 in USCIS website. Check if there is a place to fill in the COS effective date of change. If that is asked, then there should be a reason why it is asked (Don't you think?). Still in doubt, do consult an immigration attorney.

[heet_pink]

Earlier it was not possible to officially request a start date. But the new version of the form allows a future effective date request.

Yes, current processing times for I-539 are very long (8 to 9 months for Vermont center), so putting 2 months forward effective date makes no real difference anyway. Most likely if no specific date is requested, they will make it effective on the day they approve it. But she will not be considered out of status once the application is received by USCIS.

If you want to really control it, a better option is to leave, obtain H4 Visa and return.

Thanks kabkaba for the reply. My present situation is like, say if we put Effective Date as Oct 2015 and file CoS today and USCIS approves it lets say in Jun 2016 (hypothetical), will they still put the Effective Date on approval notice as Oct 2015 (which is in the past already by that time)?

I understand she will not be out of status once I-539 is accepted by USCIS, but I am trying to evaluate more about what happens to her H-1B 6 years period between her resignation and H-4 approval. Is it considered under H-4 or H-1B? She is planning to start working again at some point in future and this gives us idea about how much time she will still have to use on H-1B.

Thanks,
Hitesh

[ashutosh_a]

H1 to H4, then again H4 to H1 change of staus

Hi,

My wife traveled with me to US and reached to US in April 2013. She got one employer who filed for her H1B in 2014 and she got the H1B approved in 2014. Due to some personal reasons, she could not join the employer and went on unpaid leaves. So we filed her COS to convert her status back to H4 in October 2014 and her COS petition is approved now. She is now on my H4 which is valid till end of August 2015. My Visa extension has been filed but not yet approved.
She is now ready to join the employer and start work, but we have couple of question regarding this -
1. What are the possible ways to convert her status back to H1 so that she can start work?
2. Which process will be safer and take less time in getting her back to H1?
3. What should be the minimum validity of stamped visa (H4) to re-enter to US if the person travels outside US and comes back before expiry of old stamped visa?

Please provide your valuable suggestions.

Thanks in advance,
Ashutosh

[shervin143]

1. What are the possible ways to convert her status back to H1 so that she can start work?
>>> Filing a COS from H4 to H1B. Once H1B COS gets approved, she can start working. Alternatively, she can leave the country and re-enter back using the H1B approval notice (should be valid) and a valid H1B visa.

2. Which process will be safer and take less time in getting her back to H1?
>>> Filing a COS from H4 to H1B. If filed in premium processing, it will take only 15 days.

3. What should be the minimum validity of stamped visa (H4) to re-enter to US if the person travels outside US and comes back before expiry of old stamped visa?
>>> Anytime before the H4 visa and primary H1B holder's approval notice expires.

[kabkaba]

Thanks kabkaba for the reply. My present situation is like, say if we put Effective Date as Oct 2015 and file CoS today and USCIS approves it lets say in Jun 2016 (hypothetical), will they still put the Effective Date on approval notice as Oct 2015 (which is in the past already by that time)?

I understand she will not be out of status once I-539 is accepted by USCIS, but I am trying to evaluate more about what happens to her H-1B 6 years period between her resignation and H-4 approval. Is it considered under H-4 or H-1B? She is planning to start working again at some point in future and this gives us idea about how much time she will still have to use on H-1B.

Thanks,
Hitesh

It is difficult to predict what they will do.

The best way to control this effective date is to leave the US, obtain H4 Visa and return.