H1 & H4 Extension with EAD present - Pl. Help

[vision2001]

Hi,

I amd my wife have EAD's but our kids are on H4 which are expiring in March'03. Please help me in answering the question as

1.Is employer only responsible for H1 costs of the employee and not for H4 costs for his/her family as per INS/Labor rules.
2. Should I apply for my H1 Extension. My employer is ready to take my EAD for Employment.
3.Should I get my family's H4 extension done.
4. If the answer to 3 is NO then what about my Kids status who do not have a EAD (6 and 4 Years age) till 485 gets approved.

Of course about 14 months has elasped after my 485 filing and my family does not have any plans to visit out of USA till GC comes. Me and My spouse also have AP documents.


Thanks in advance for your help,


WAC-02-041-xxxxx

 

[PCee]

First, understand that EAD is a work permit where as H4 is not! In your case it is upto you if you want to stay back on H1 or EAD (there are several discussions on this board on which one is better!). For your family, since their AOS is pending they are in status until a decision is made on their GC cases and they don't need H4s (I assume that they are not planning to take up any job in near future). If they need to travel while waiting for GC they need APs to do so. Note that even if you apply for H4 extensions still you need to get visas stamped in their passports to travel (which takes app. same amout of money and time compared to APs). Regarding your wife, if she is or want to work then she must maintain EAD.

It is between you and your employer on who pays for EAD/H1/H4s talk to your HR department.

Good luck
PCee