Hello,
I'm Canadian on H4 visa status. My wife is on H1-B. I've recently moved back to Canada to work while my wife remained in the US. While I was in Canada, my wife in the US started her H1-B visa renewal process since it was set to expire. Being abroad, our lawyer said that she could not submit my H4 renewal at the same time as my wife's application because I needed to be inside the USA at the time and not be crossing borders back and forth while awaiting approval from US immigration. Immigration made a mistake on my H4 visa and added a year to the expiry date when it really should expire the same time as my wife's H1-b visa. My only option would be to come back to the USA before the h1-b submittal and remain there until approved or stay outside the USA until it's been approved. Both are unacceptable options since I just started my job here and cannot just quit and go back to the USA until the visas are approved and I cannot remain in Canada for 3 to 4 months waiting for the visas to be approved as I would like to see my family during that time. So my lawyer suggested that I willingly surrender my H4 visa the next time I cross the border and just come in as a regular visitor. The problem is at that point US immigration might think that I have the intention of remaining in the US and deny me entry. How and what should I say to avoid trouble when I cross the border? Should I surrender the H4 visa willingly or just not mention anything at all since the date on the visa won't expire until a year from now? Will not mentioning anything affect future H4 renewal or H1-B application or greencard?
Thanks
I'm Canadian on H4 visa status. My wife is on H1-B. I've recently moved back to Canada to work while my wife remained in the US. While I was in Canada, my wife in the US started her H1-B visa renewal process since it was set to expire. Being abroad, our lawyer said that she could not submit my H4 renewal at the same time as my wife's application because I needed to be inside the USA at the time and not be crossing borders back and forth while awaiting approval from US immigration. Immigration made a mistake on my H4 visa and added a year to the expiry date when it really should expire the same time as my wife's H1-b visa. My only option would be to come back to the USA before the h1-b submittal and remain there until approved or stay outside the USA until it's been approved. Both are unacceptable options since I just started my job here and cannot just quit and go back to the USA until the visas are approved and I cannot remain in Canada for 3 to 4 months waiting for the visas to be approved as I would like to see my family during that time. So my lawyer suggested that I willingly surrender my H4 visa the next time I cross the border and just come in as a regular visitor. The problem is at that point US immigration might think that I have the intention of remaining in the US and deny me entry. How and what should I say to avoid trouble when I cross the border? Should I surrender the H4 visa willingly or just not mention anything at all since the date on the visa won't expire until a year from now? Will not mentioning anything affect future H4 renewal or H1-B application or greencard?
Thanks