6 year limit approaching while waiting for Labor approval

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rkg12345

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I will be exhausting my 6 year stay limit in U.S. in Dec 2004. I am on H-4 visa presently but have worked in the country on L1 and H1 in succession before that. My husband's GC petition is stuck in regional labor approval since July 2003. He has 3 more years on his H1.

If the approval doesnt come by December and we are not able to file for I-140/I-485/AP, then will I be able to file a petition for extension even though my husband doesnt require the extension for himself? If not, then what will be my options?

Thank you in advance for your response.
 
If your husbands LC is pending for more than 1 year then you can apply for an H4 extension based on his H1-B and LC pending status.
Talk to your lawyer. It should not be a problem.
HTH
 
Re:

Has anyone faced a similar problem before? My lawyer tells me that I would need to change to F-1 or B-2 to stay legally in the country.

Any inputs will be very much appreciated.
 
The law is not clear on this...

Contact other Attorneys and you may get a different opinion. For most of us is very logical that this should be possible when you comapare with a situation where both run out of H1 time, and one has LC pending and rule is clear on that.

For example I discussed this with an attorney at Murthy's and she said it is possible to extend/convert H4 unless both independently eligible for H1 (with a pending LC).

Good luck and keep us posted.



rkg12345 said:
Has anyone faced a similar problem before? My lawyer tells me that I would need to change to F-1 or B-2 to stay legally in the country.

Any inputs will be very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
I do not deny that there is no grey area invloved, but instead of speculating - I will suggest file I-539 yourself. It is a form to extend/change vis status. This is the form which lawyers fill when they request extension of H4 visa. It is pretty staright to fill - fill it yourself and post it to service center. You will get extension(most likely). Dependent visa get extensions pretty easily.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-539.htm
 
Re:

Thank you for your inputs!

One more question - My H-4 visa will be due for renewal in Feb 2005 but the 6 year limit will expire in Dec 2004. Am I approved to stay till Feb 2005 or will it considered my responsibility to take care that I donot overstay the 6 year period?
 
rkg12345 said:
Thank you for your inputs!

One more question - My H-4 visa will be due for renewal in Feb 2005 but the 6 year limit will expire in Dec 2004. Am I approved to stay till Feb 2005 or will it considered my responsibility to take care that I donot overstay the 6 year period?
Click to expand...
It is not your responsibility be any means.
 
6 year limit approaching while spouse has time on H-1 !

Thank you all for your advice. As follow-up on my earlier post, I have spoken to my lawyer and he tells me that there are only 2 options:
1. The most desirable one is to switch to F-1 visa and stay in the country on full-time student status till the next stage of green card is filed.
2. The lesser desirable one is to go back to India and wait there while my husband waits for his approval. When he applies for 140/485 here, they will send an application to the U.S. consulate in India as well and I can get consular processing done there.

* He tells me to be safe and take Dec 2004 as my deadline for stay(when my 6 years finish) and not Feb 2005 (when my I-94 finishes).
* The second being more risky and cumbersome, as he puts it, the first is an expensive option financially. Also, most schools have closed admissions for the fall term, which is what I would need to make the Dec 2004 deadline.
* He advises me against leaving the country and coming back on Tourist Visa to stay here for 6-8 months.
* He tells me extension of H-4 is not possible in this case.

If any of you can shed legal light over the matter or cite reference to any case, it will be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your responses.
 
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