Can h4 holders travel to Ind. while new ext. is inprocess & prev. ext. is still valid

[adityatiw]

Can h4 holders travel to India while new extension is in process and prev. extension is still valid.

Let me describe the situation in detail.

1. My previous H1B extension is valid till 19th Dec 2015.
2. I just initiated my new H1 extension (7th year beyond 19th Dec 2015 since GC is under process) 10 days ago through my company's centralized immigration helpdesk and the application is going through internal review within my company but they have posted LCA. As per the application lifecycle, it says that my extension application will be sent to USCIS on 5th Nov 2015.
3. My wife's mother had a health emergency yesterday and now my wife is going to India tomorrow.
4. Can my wife get the stamping done in India as her H4 is still valid till 19th Dec 2015? Also, the new extension will not be filed till 5th Nov 2015. I believe my wife can get the stamping done before 5th Nov in India and she can travel back to US soon after the stamping. Please confirm whether this will work? If 5th Nov date is the problem, I can request my company's immigration desk to try to hold the application for another week or two before sending the application to USCIS for filing.
Or will my wife have to stay in India until the H1B extension is approved and then get the H4 stamping done and then join me back to US?
Please advise. Your help is appreciated.

Thanks.

[shervin143]

If you wife alone will travel out of U.S, then there is no point in holding your H1B extension. There is no need to file her H4 extension since she will be leaving the country. She can get her H4 visa stamped based on your H1B approval notice. If your H1B is valid only till Nov, then her visa will also be issued only till that date. It is advisable that she appears for the visa interview after you get your H1B extended. That way, she will get a new H4 visa validity until your new petition expiry date and het I-94 will be valid for the same duration upon her return. There is a premium process that will get you the H1B result within 15 days.