InfoSeeker123
New Member
Dear Sir / Ma'am,
Request your advice on an urgent basis. Please find the relevant details listed below:
1) Me and my wife came to the US on a L1B visa in August 2009 (validity of both the visa and the I-94s was till end of July 2012)
2) My company applied for a conversion to L1A in March 2012 (L2 extension for my wife) which got approved in early July 2012 (new I-94 valid till end of July 2014 for both of us)
3) They also applied for a H1B (for me only through Change of Status (COS) method) in June 2012 and the same is currently under processing by USCIS
4) H-4 has not been applied for my wife yet. They initially said that they are applying H-1B for all primary applicants and H-4s for the dependents could be added to the petition later. Now they are saying that the couldn't have applied for my wife's H-4 since there was a gap in I-94 (form end-July to October 1 2012, given that her original I-94 was expiring in end July). Ultimately, there wasn't any gap since her L2 got extended along with my L1A, as mentioned in (2) above.
5) They are also saying that since she will be out of status due to my switch to H1 from L1, she needs to leave the US before October 1, get the H-4 stamped/activated at the consulate and then return after October 1
Questions:
1) Is the statement in (4) above correct? If H-1 was applied for me even though my original I-94 was expiring in end July, why couldn't the same be done in case of H-4 for my wife?
2) Now that my wife's L2 has been extended and the new I-94 has arrived (valid till 2014), is it possible to apply for her H-4 now (COS or otherwise)? Is there aany way using which that could be done without her having to leave the US?
3) In the worst case, that is if H-4 can't be applied now, what are the options? Could she go to a nearby country (e.g. Canada) to get the H-4 or does it need to be the home country only (India) ?
Please help ! Thanks in advance !
Request your advice on an urgent basis. Please find the relevant details listed below:
1) Me and my wife came to the US on a L1B visa in August 2009 (validity of both the visa and the I-94s was till end of July 2012)
2) My company applied for a conversion to L1A in March 2012 (L2 extension for my wife) which got approved in early July 2012 (new I-94 valid till end of July 2014 for both of us)
3) They also applied for a H1B (for me only through Change of Status (COS) method) in June 2012 and the same is currently under processing by USCIS
4) H-4 has not been applied for my wife yet. They initially said that they are applying H-1B for all primary applicants and H-4s for the dependents could be added to the petition later. Now they are saying that the couldn't have applied for my wife's H-4 since there was a gap in I-94 (form end-July to October 1 2012, given that her original I-94 was expiring in end July). Ultimately, there wasn't any gap since her L2 got extended along with my L1A, as mentioned in (2) above.
5) They are also saying that since she will be out of status due to my switch to H1 from L1, she needs to leave the US before October 1, get the H-4 stamped/activated at the consulate and then return after October 1
Questions:
1) Is the statement in (4) above correct? If H-1 was applied for me even though my original I-94 was expiring in end July, why couldn't the same be done in case of H-4 for my wife?
2) Now that my wife's L2 has been extended and the new I-94 has arrived (valid till 2014), is it possible to apply for her H-4 now (COS or otherwise)? Is there aany way using which that could be done without her having to leave the US?
3) In the worst case, that is if H-4 can't be applied now, what are the options? Could she go to a nearby country (e.g. Canada) to get the H-4 or does it need to be the home country only (India) ?
Please help ! Thanks in advance !