H1-H4 clarification

J

jeya123

Registered Users (C)
ello All,
I am using this session for the first time. Any suggestion/advise is really appreciated.
I am on H1 visa. I got married in 2000 and brought my spouse here on H4. Found a consulting company to process my spouse's H1 and got the INS approval on April 2002. Since the company couldn't find a project for my spouse, they are not paying even a single penny. Just yesterday, I came to know from one of my friends that H1 status would get cancelled automatically, if we dont get paid for 3 months after getting H1. It has been 8 months since my spouse got the H1 status and not been paid till now. Is my spouse OUT OF STATUS now ? If yes, can I have my spouse's H4 processed through my company. If yes, do i need to go back to India to get H4 visa stamped (or) can I have it done in US itself.
 
The advantage of h4 is that, you can always claim that you did not join the h1 company yet. However, there is also another practice which is that H1 is not valid if it has not been used for more than 60 days...
As a precaution if the H4 stamp is still valid, just travel to the nearest POE (Canada) and get a new I94 (avoid toronto) with H4 stamp and come back. This will completely reset the h4 to h1.
 
Hello Jaxen,

Thank you so much for your reply. Let me mention one more point which i didn't mention in my previous message. I have got my spouse's H1 stamped in her passport also when I went to India in may. I got her H1 after getting her H4. I have heard that always the latest one is valid which means I can't use her H4 anymore. Now that being the situation,
Do I have to process a new H4 through my company, in order to get her back to status. If so, will INS question (or)
Is the old H4 still valid. If so, how can I get it stamped in her passport (or)
can i leave it as it is without doing anything until she gets a job. If so, will i face any problem in my green card processing which is still in first stage (labor).

Sorry to bother you with so many questions. Thanks in advance for your valuable suggestions
 
After h1 stamping, h4 visa is no longer valid. In order to do h1 to h4 your spouse might be asked to submit recent paystubs.
Consult a lawyer.
 
H4 - H1 - H4

My wife entered US on H4.
She got a job and filed H1.
She got laid off so we file I529(Change of Status from H1 to H4).
I changed my company so we filed another I529.

She want's to visit India. But her passport has only old H4 stamped; which has not yet expired.
Can she enter the country with her old visa ?
 
for Pchawla3

I am just taking a logical approach to answer your question. I am not 100% sure about this.

(1) If she is travelling alone and has a valid H4 , then there should be no problem

(2) If you both are travelling together and:
(a) If you have your new H1 stamped in your passport , then it could be an issue while coming back
(b) If you haven't gotten your new H1 stamped in your passport and your previous employer had not cancelled your H1, then there should be no problem

Solution for 2a :

(1) send the documents to St. Louis and get it stamped with new H4 before travelling (this would take approx. 6-8 weeks)

(2) If you can't postpone your trip, get it stamped in India.

Please read the first sentence once again.

BTW, I have some questions for you. Hope you could help me on that.

(1) For how long your wife was on H1 with project.
(2) For how long she was on H1 without project and without pay.
(3) Did you get any layoff letter from her employer / did he cancel her H1 (which option is better and safer for us)
(4) When did you apply for her H4 and how long did it take to get the approval from INS
(5) Will INS ask for paystubs for H1 to H4 transfer.
 
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