Folks,
I am enumerating the questions so that you folks can help me understand each element of the situation at hand:
Background: I am on H1-B, have applied for I-140(NIW, no LC)/I-485 at VSC in Sept'03. Currently the processing date is March'03; so there are a few months to go
I got married in April'04. My wife is on an F-1 (expiring this December'04). She has not yet applied for an F-1 based OPT
1. If my I-140(NIW, no LC)/I-485 get approved, and I have not applied for spousal AOS based on my application, am I forever doomed ? Can I not apply for her AOS based on my "approved" I-485 ? I am asking this question because I know that I could do it now (when my I-140/I-485 is still pending), why can't I do it when it is approved ? She is in the US currently. Please cite specific rules/forms
2. If I do apply for her, is it imperative that she get onto an H-4 before I apply for her spousal AOS ? Can I do the AOS and H-4 application simultaneously ?
3. Are there huge problems going from H-4 to H1-B for her (if she wanted to or had an opportunity to do so)? Is this something that is ill-advised ?
4. While she is on F-1 (or on the subsequent F-1 based OPT), and then I apply for her AOS, her OPT status ends. What does she do if she is working as a full-time employee (or an intern) at that time ? Does the OPT end the instant the application is received at VSC, or when the case is adjucated (approval or rejection). If it is rejected, does the original F-1 based OPT become "active" again ? Or is it gone forever ?
5. If she gets onto an H-4 and spousal AOS/AP/EAD, and then becomes an intern or full time employee, can she then apply for her own individual H-1B through her company ? Will she have to wait to check on how the AOS case was adjucated ? Or can she go right ahead ?
6. Based on your knowledge, do you suppose going from her current status to AOS/AP/EAD via an H-4 is the best possible route ? Or should she try to get onto her own H-1B and then I could apply for her spousal AOS ? That seems a bigger problem because the quota for H-1B will be reached quickly and my application might get processed before that.
Any advice will be welcome. I understand there might be others like me who are struggling with these questions. Please help
Thanks in advance
I am enumerating the questions so that you folks can help me understand each element of the situation at hand:
Background: I am on H1-B, have applied for I-140(NIW, no LC)/I-485 at VSC in Sept'03. Currently the processing date is March'03; so there are a few months to go
I got married in April'04. My wife is on an F-1 (expiring this December'04). She has not yet applied for an F-1 based OPT
1. If my I-140(NIW, no LC)/I-485 get approved, and I have not applied for spousal AOS based on my application, am I forever doomed ? Can I not apply for her AOS based on my "approved" I-485 ? I am asking this question because I know that I could do it now (when my I-140/I-485 is still pending), why can't I do it when it is approved ? She is in the US currently. Please cite specific rules/forms
2. If I do apply for her, is it imperative that she get onto an H-4 before I apply for her spousal AOS ? Can I do the AOS and H-4 application simultaneously ?
3. Are there huge problems going from H-4 to H1-B for her (if she wanted to or had an opportunity to do so)? Is this something that is ill-advised ?
4. While she is on F-1 (or on the subsequent F-1 based OPT), and then I apply for her AOS, her OPT status ends. What does she do if she is working as a full-time employee (or an intern) at that time ? Does the OPT end the instant the application is received at VSC, or when the case is adjucated (approval or rejection). If it is rejected, does the original F-1 based OPT become "active" again ? Or is it gone forever ?
5. If she gets onto an H-4 and spousal AOS/AP/EAD, and then becomes an intern or full time employee, can she then apply for her own individual H-1B through her company ? Will she have to wait to check on how the AOS case was adjucated ? Or can she go right ahead ?
6. Based on your knowledge, do you suppose going from her current status to AOS/AP/EAD via an H-4 is the best possible route ? Or should she try to get onto her own H-1B and then I could apply for her spousal AOS ? That seems a bigger problem because the quota for H-1B will be reached quickly and my application might get processed before that.
Any advice will be welcome. I understand there might be others like me who are struggling with these questions. Please help
Thanks in advance