H4 after H1B approval

[Abirami K]

Hello All,

Need guidance. My employer filed a H1B cap exempt petition ( based on my i140 approval) last year and it got approved on Feb 26th 2021. I am currently in India and waiting for the hard copy to get visa stamped. visa expired Sep 2019. It's been 6 weeks since approval but as per employer/attorney they have still not received petition hard copy. I am worried that it may have been lost in which case I believe attorneys will have to file I824 which will again take upto 6 months. Due to family circumstances I need to travel at the earliest as my spouse is working in US with his own H1B. My query is, while I have this approved petition can I get a h4 visa based on my husbands H1B and travel. What happens to this approved H1B petition? How should I resume working once the petition hard copy is received? Thanks in advance!

[rkk09]

Hi,
What happens to this approved H1B petition?
Answer: It will not be there once you change your status to H4.
How should I resume working once the petition hard copy is received?
Answer: If you got H4 visa at consulate, then you can travel to the USA with the help of H4 visa. Once you got Job offer then you will need to file another H1B change of status petition, get approved then start working on the H1B visa.
Note: For H1B visa stamping, you dont require original H1B Approval notice. Copy of approval notice is absolutely fine.
Thanks