Green Card and H1-B visa !

L

lilac20

Registered Users (C)
Hi all,

At present, I am on H1-B visa status (I-797 approval, from last 7 months). I am going to India to get it stamped in the month of February 2004.

In the meantime, immediately after my H1-B approval, my company also started Green Card processing. I have recently got approved for my Labor Certification and now my company is ready to start second stage, that is, I-140.

My question is, if I start now with I-140, can I still leave the country in Feb 2004 and get my H1-B stamped ? Or shall I just hold on to I-140 procedure and start it after Feb 2004 ?

My second question is, I have to visit India in Feb 2004, because I am also getting married. So, will my wife have tough time to get her H4 visa just because my green card is already started ? (My plan is to bring her here and include her in 3rd stage, I-485, as dependant.)

Please advise ASAP. Thanks for all your help.

- Rahul:confused: :confused:
 
At present, I am on H1-B visa status (I-797 approval, from last 7 months). I am going to India to get it stamped in the month of February 2004.

In the meantime, immediately after my H1-B approval, my company also started Green Card processing. I have recently got approved for my Labor Certification and now my company is ready to start second stage, that is, I-140.

My question is, if I start now with I-140, can I still leave the country in Feb 2004 and get my H1-B stamped ? Or shall I just hold on to I-140 procedure and start it after Feb 2004 ?
Your I-140 is not connected with H1 in any way. They both are processed independently. You can go ahead and visit India and get a new H1b stamped. You can also get it stamped in the US from Dept of state. This process is called visa revalidation and you can find out more at travel.state.gov.

My second question is, I have to visit India in Feb 2004, because I am also getting married. So, will my wife have tough time to get her H4 visa just because my green card is already started ? (My plan is to bring her here and include her in 3rd stage, I-485, as dependant.)
Again, your H1 or your wife's H4 are in no way connected to I-140. H visas are dual intent visas and cannot be refused solely because you have applied for any immigration. If you provide necessary documentation, have no H1 violations like benching without pay, etc. and are getting paid as per LCA then you should not have any problems.
 
Thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it.

In your 1st answer, you mentioned that I can get my H1-B stamped in US from DOS. Can I do it in my case ? I mean, this is my first time H1-B visa approval in USA and I don't have any prior stamping done on my passport for H1. I heard that once you have H1 stamped, then for 2nd stamping, it can be done in US itself. For 1st timers, it has to be from out of USA (preferably home country). Am I correct ?

Please advise.

Thanks,
Rahul
 
lilac20

Only visas of type E, H, I, L, O, and P can be revalidated in US. Revalidation is also called renewal or reissuance. Applicants may also apply for a new visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad that processes nonimmigrant visa applications. It can be re-validated in US only if you had never been out-of-status in US.

Looking at your response, I think you came to US in category other then H1B and later changed to H1B. You need to have the visa stamp in the same category (in your case it is H1-B) as the the category under which you are applying.


If that's the case, you cannot get VISA revalidation in USA.

source: http://www.immihelp.com/visas/revalidate.html
 
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That's correct, I came initially on F-1 and later changed to H1-B. That's why I only have I-797 approval for H1-B, but no stampiong yet.

Thanks,
Rahul
 
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