H4 stamping while H1 is being processed

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perrin

New Member
Hi Everybody,

This is my first post on this website. I am impressed by the number of knowledgeable people answering questions here. I hope someone will be able to answer my questions...

The company my fiancee is working for, has applied for her H1 on July 13th (normal processing). We are getting married on September 5th. Now my problem is it looks like it might take upto 3 months or more for the H1 to get approved and another 3 to 4 months to get it stamped. So she will have to wait for more than 7 months before she can come to the US.

She has a H4 appointment on September 12th.

1) Is it ok for her to get the H4 visa stamped while her H1 is currently being processed.
2) Is it ok for her to come to US on the H4, after the H1 is approved but without getting the H1 stamped.
3) If she can come to the US on her H4 can she start working for her company?
4) This all means that she will have to get her H1 stamped the next time we go back to India. Can we do this?

Thanks for your time.
 
perrin said:
Hi Everybody,

This is my first post on this website. I am impressed by the number of knowledgeable people answering questions here. I hope someone will be able to answer my questions...

The company my fiancee is working for, has applied for her H1 on July 13th (normal processing). We are getting married on September 5th. Now my problem is it looks like it might take upto 3 months or more for the H1 to get approved and another 3 to 4 months to get it stamped. So she will have to wait for more than 7 months before she can come to the US.

She has a H4 appointment on September 12th.

1) Is it ok for her to get the H4 visa stamped while her H1 is currently being processed. YES

2) Is it ok for her to come to US on the H4, after the H1 is approved but without getting the H1 stamped. YES

3) If she can come to the US on her H4 can she start working for her company? No, not at all

4) This all means that she will have to get her H1 stamped the next time we go back to India. Can we do this?
She need H1 visa stamping and new I 94 with caveat "H1" to get her SSN and start working.
She is just getting her new H1, it is not a transfer from H4 to H1. So she can not start the work with new H1 with I 94 mentioning "H4" on it.

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Greatguru,

Thanks for your reply... Now I am confused about H4 to H1 transfer. How does that work? A person on H4 inside the US will have their I-94 mentioning H4 on it. Now if they get a H1 approved does this mean they can't work until they get their H1 stamped on their passport? I was thinking that you can work just based on your H1 approval notice, and you can get the H1 stamped next time you leave the country. Isn't our situation the same.
 
perrin said:
Hi Greatguru,

Thanks for your reply... Now I am confused about H4 to H1 transfer. How does that work? A person on H4 inside the US will have their I-94 mentioning H4 on it. Now if they get a H1 approved does this mean they can't work until they get their H1 stamped on their passport?

Your assumption is wrong. If you are H4 in US and change the status to H1 and it is approved, you will get your H1 approval notice along with a new I 94 at the bottom of the H1 approval notice. That I 94 indicates it belongs to H1, so that you can start working immediately. (on the Start date)

I was thinking that you can work just based on your H1 approval notice, and you can get the H1 stamped next time you leave the country. Isn't our situation the same.
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