H4 visa extension

[americandesimd]

Hello Friends,

My wife and I travelled to USA by showing our previous employers visa was not expired at that time in May 2014. It has expired in Sep 2015.
I also got our I 94s extended till next by visiting the US customs office at the US airport few months back.
Her I 94 is now valid till Aug 2016 and my I 797 is valid till May 2017.

not sure if my wife is out of status now?
what is the best course of further action for me now?
1)Shall I ask my employer to file her H4 now and wait until she gets the extended status? are there any issues/blockers/denial that I can anticipate from USCIS?
2)Or shall I go out of USA and get the passport stamped say in Dominican Republic. can there be any issues at the US consulate while stamping?

please advise what's the best for me

Thanks

[shervin143]

I am not clear on what you are trying to ask. Are you saying that your most recent I-94s (both you and your wife's) are still valid. If I read your question correctly, you managed to get your I-94s extended by visiting CBP. Your I-94 is valid until May 2017 and your wife's I-94 is valid until August 2016, is that correct?

If that is the case, neither of you are out of status or have accumulated illegal stay. Extensions can be filed within 6 months from the I-94 expiry date. In your wife's case, you can file her H4 extension based on your H1B petition sometime in or after March 2016. When that extension gets approved, she will get a new I-94 matching your current H1B petition expiry date. Beginning 2017, your employer can file H1B / H4 extension for both you and your wife to extend your status further.

[americandesimd]

I am not clear on what you are trying to ask. Are you saying that your most recent I-94s (both you and your wife's) are still valid. If I read your question correctly, you managed to get your I-94s extended by visiting CBP. Your I-94 is valid until May 2017 and your wife's I-94 is valid until August 2016, is that correct?

If that is the case, neither of you are out of status or have accumulated illegal stay. Extensions can be filed within 6 months from the I-94 expiry date. In your wife's case, you can file her H4 extension based on your H1B petition sometime in or after March 2016. When that extension gets approved, she will get a new I-94 matching your current H1B petition expiry date. Beginning 2017, your employer can file H1B / H4 extension for both you and your wife to extend your status further.

Thanks for your reply. You are correct about CBP. At CBP they extended our I 94s only till our passport expiry date. Thus for her its Aug 2016 and for me its Dec 2016. My I797 is valid till May 2017.
Started this thread because I am not able to renew my wife's passport here at Indian Embassy DC as they are asking for my wife's valid h4 visa or a visa extension document/receipt.
She went for the interview at the Embassy and presented her case, showed them all the documents, her I 94, my I 94 and my I 797. But the officer says he needs her visa extension document for them to process the same.

PS: The interview process is mentioned on the bls india website and ultimately the passport goes for the verification at the Embassy only, who finally approves it.

[shervin143]

I guess they need either an extended petition or a receipt notice stating that the extension is filed or a valid visa to renew the passport here in U.S. In your case, you don't have any of that, but have a valid I-94. I was going to suggest that you file your wife's extension in March and then file the passport renewal immediately with the receipt notice. But the drawback is, it is possible that there can be an RFE since your wife's passport will expire within 6 months. You have two options.

1) File your wife's H4 extension now (even though she has more than 6 months of I-94 validity) and hope that her H4 petition gets approved. Once you have the approval notice, you can apply for her passport renewal.
2) Your wife should leave the country, get the passport renewed from outside U.S and return back on H4 visa. Her I-94 will be issued until your I-797 expiry date.

Thanks for your reply. You are correct about CBP. At CBP they extended our I 94s only till our passport expiry date. Thus for her its Aug 2016 and for me its Dec 2016. My I797 is valid till May 2017.
Started this thread because I am not able to renew my wife's passport here at Indian Embassy DC as they are asking for my wife's valid h4 visa or a visa extension document/receipt.
She went for the interview at the Embassy and presented her case, showed them all the documents, her I 94, my I 94 and my I 797. But the officer says he needs her visa extension document for them to process the same.

PS: The interview process is mentioned on the bls india website and ultimately the passport goes for the verification at the Embassy only, who finally approves it.

[americandesimd]

I guess they need either an extended petition or a receipt notice stating that the extension is filed or a valid visa to renew the passport here in U.S. In your case, you don't have any of that, but have a valid I-94. I was going to suggest that you file your wife's extension in March and then file the passport renewal immediately with the receipt notice. But the drawback is, it is possible that there can be an RFE since your wife's passport will expire within 6 months. You have two options.

1) File your wife's H4 extension now (even though she has more than 6 months of I-94 validity) and hope that her H4 petition gets approved. Once you have the approval notice, you can apply for her passport renewal.
2) Your wife should leave the country, get the passport renewed from outside U.S and return back on H4 visa. Her I-94 will be issued until your I-797 expiry date.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Or is this an option to consider? Go to Dominican Republic (or similar country) with existing passports and get it stamped. come back to USA and renew the passports

On the other hand I was also thinking of just submitting the documents(both our I 94s and my I 797) to Bls India international for passport renewal. I read some threads on different forums saying they were able to get the passport renewed with I 94s and spouse's I797. Was thinking of taking this risk too.

let me know what you think.

Regards.