I am a citizen of EU. I currently am an international student in USA with F-1 status. I’m getting married to a H-1b holder, who is a citizen of India, and plan to apply for change of status (F-1 to H-4) right after the marriage. We plan on visiting India in December.
Assuming I get the change of status approved without any problems, my questions are as follows:
1) Since I need to get H-4 stamped in my passport in order to come back to USA, I need to go to Mumbai consulate for that. As you might be aware, it takes a long time to get an appointment for interview there, and our planned visit is only for about three weeks. Is there a way for me as not India’s citizen, get an earlier appointment at Mumbai consulate, would they consider the fact that I will be a tourist there, and time is limited for me?
2) Do you think getting H-4 stamped in Canada and only then going to India is a better option?
3) I have heard something about a possibility to expedite the change of status to H-1b process. Does that apply to H-4 as well? Any idea how much more does it cost?
Thanks a lot for your time!
Assuming I get the change of status approved without any problems, my questions are as follows:
1) Since I need to get H-4 stamped in my passport in order to come back to USA, I need to go to Mumbai consulate for that. As you might be aware, it takes a long time to get an appointment for interview there, and our planned visit is only for about three weeks. Is there a way for me as not India’s citizen, get an earlier appointment at Mumbai consulate, would they consider the fact that I will be a tourist there, and time is limited for me?
2) Do you think getting H-4 stamped in Canada and only then going to India is a better option?
3) I have heard something about a possibility to expedite the change of status to H-1b process. Does that apply to H-4 as well? Any idea how much more does it cost?
Thanks a lot for your time!