Converting H4 to H1!Please advise-urgent!

G

garywarrier

Registered Users (C)
Hi!,
I guess this is not the right forum for this,but I have received help before from here.
When in India,a company A here had sponsored a H1 for my wife.the H1 got approved and she even got the H1 stamped on her passport which is valid till nexy year(2003).However since the economy slumped and the project at hand was lost she did not use the H1, and she came into the US on a H4 visa.
Now the company A seems to have a project for her.
My question is whether she can use the H1 Approval(in the name of the company) which she also has stamped on her passport to start work.My reasoning was that she could just go out of the country(eg., Canada) and re-enter the US showing the valid H1 visa she has on her passport.
However:
1. Does this make her status -H1 in the US,so that she can start working?

2.When you renter US from Canada(after a short journey) from past experiences,they do not even take the I-94 or issue a new one when you renter,they just check the validity of your visa and your I-94....

Not to confuse this further,I guess the qusetion is how can she start working using the H1 Approval she already has(stamped on her passport too).

Thanks for your help,
Gary
 
garywarrier

She can enter using previous approved H1 and start working. Just get another employment letter from employer and carry that while entering.
 
Thanks a ton,usnycus.
So,if we make the trip to Canada she should show her H1 Visa with the latest employment letter and get a new I-94 stamped with the H1 Visa date...guess I am right.

Again,Thanks for your reply.

Gary
 
garywarrier

I don't think she even needs to go out of the country as she has a Valid H1 as of date and she can start working as it will have a valid I-94 attached to I797 which is H1 approval notice.

Hope this helps.

Needhelp1
 
garywarrier

That's what you need to do......Good Luck...


needhelp1
This is one of those gray area(s) where attorney/expert have so different opinion.

Some of the attorney/expert might agree with you; as in this case the person has approved H1 and employer is willing to hire so that person can take the job without doing anything even though he/she entered USA on H4.

But at the same time you can also find an attorney/expert who will not agree because one can have only one status at a given time. And when she entered in USA she entered as a H4 and that means H1 is no longer valid.

If I were in his/her shoes, I will try to get out of US and enter again using approved H1 and carrying current employment letter to be on safe side. Another way is to file H1 again and then start working once that is approved without going out of USA.
 
Frankly, I don't see anything grey about it. It seems to me that her status is very clear, it's an H-4 as stated on her I-94 and she needs an I-94 indicating H-1 status to work. There are only 2 ways to get it, leave the US and reenter or file for a change of status to H-4.



Originally posted by usnycus
garywarrier

That's what you need to do......Good Luck...


needhelp1
This is one of those gray area(s) where attorney/expert have so different opinion.

Some of the attorney/expert might agree with you; as in this case the person has approved H1 and employer is willing to hire so that person can take the job without doing anything even though he/she entered USA on H4.

But at the same time you can also find an attorney/expert who will not agree because one can have only one status at a given time. And when she entered in USA she entered as a H4 and that means H1 is no longer valid.

If I were in his/her shoes, I will try to get out of US and enter again using approved H1 and carrying current employment letter to be on safe side. Another way is to file H1 again and then start working once that is approved without going out of USA.
Click to expand...
 
Jim

I have the same opinion that she needs to go out and get stamped again or apply for new H1.

But I was checking it with someone and he said exactly what needhelp1 was saying.
 
well, I guess we have a difference of opinion. The problem is that if the other person is wrong she will be illegally employed. She needs an SSN to work, try getting that on an H-4.
 
Thanks a lot to everybody for your reply.
I agree the best way would be to leave the US and renter producing the H1 Approval (and a current employee verification letter) she has and the I-94 associated with it.So once we get that I-94 entered into the system,I guess her status from then on would be H1 in the US.
As needhelp had said I always thought this was a grey area but then as he rightly put it we could have only one status at any point of time.I had never thought about the valid I-94 she had with the H1 Approval.
Jim,I guess it would is an easier process to leave and renter than to apply for a change of status,isn't it.Is it true that when applying for a change of status to H1 the employer will have to file all the I-129,etc agin.But then why should they..since this is an already approved H1...would'nt it be just enough to file the Change of status application Form I-539(if I am right about the number)?
As far as applying for a new H1,the company would'nt want to spend money to apply for a new H1 altogether.
I always thought the situation my wife was facing was pretty strange..I feel it is pretty straight forward though after seeing your replies.
Thanks usnycus,needhelp1 and Jim.
 
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