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H1B to H4 status change for spouse, plus potential "H1B transfer" for me
Hi everyone.
This is my first time posting here, though I often find answers to many of my doubts here. Could anyone offer any advice, or direct me if there is any answer that has already addressed a similar issue?
I am an Indian citizen currently in the US on H1B visa. My wife (Indian citizen) has her own H1B visa, that is about to expire (the 6 years plus extensions) in mid-September.
a. If we apply for her H4 (form I-539), say, in late August, can she stay in the US once the application is filed?
For some friends, it has been taking a while to even get the receipt notice for the H4 application. I am thinking of a situation where my wife's own H1B status has expired but we have not yet received the H4 receipt notice. Would it be okay to stay in the US in that situation, or do we need to ensure that we have the receipt notice before her H1B expires?
b. Related to the above, is there any provision of "premium" or fast processing for H4? Or is there just one standard process.
c. Does my employer have any role to play in the entire H4 process? Or we can file on our own with all the required documents.
d. Initially, we were planning that my wife would visit India and schedule an interview for H4 visa from the consulate there. However, to make matters more complicated, the time of her status change (H1B to H4) may coincide with my own change of employer and H1B transfer.
Do you think that it will be safe to visit India and appear for H4 interview there? We are worried if my H1B transfer can make matters more complicated and she gets stuck in India.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Deep
This is my first time posting here, though I often find answers to many of my doubts here. Could anyone offer any advice, or direct me if there is any answer that has already addressed a similar issue?
I am an Indian citizen currently in the US on H1B visa. My wife (Indian citizen) has her own H1B visa, that is about to expire (the 6 years plus extensions) in mid-September.
a. If we apply for her H4 (form I-539), say, in late August, can she stay in the US once the application is filed?
For some friends, it has been taking a while to even get the receipt notice for the H4 application. I am thinking of a situation where my wife's own H1B status has expired but we have not yet received the H4 receipt notice. Would it be okay to stay in the US in that situation, or do we need to ensure that we have the receipt notice before her H1B expires?
b. Related to the above, is there any provision of "premium" or fast processing for H4? Or is there just one standard process.
c. Does my employer have any role to play in the entire H4 process? Or we can file on our own with all the required documents.
d. Initially, we were planning that my wife would visit India and schedule an interview for H4 visa from the consulate there. However, to make matters more complicated, the time of her status change (H1B to H4) may coincide with my own change of employer and H1B transfer.
Do you think that it will be safe to visit India and appear for H4 interview there? We are worried if my H1B transfer can make matters more complicated and she gets stuck in India.
Any advice will be much appreciated.
Deep
