h4 TO h1b Status change

R

rajiv1231

New Member
Hello all,
This is the first time I am posting here. so, if this is not the right forum, please redirect me to the right one.

here is my friends situation
She came to usa on H4 visa and after coming here, she changed the status from H4 to H1B (filed last year) and got approved in october of last year(2005). Since then she is looking for job and she got her SSN sometime in january. Till now she did not find any job and so, consultant company did not run any paychecks on her name. So, she can not attend the us consulate to get her status changed from H4 to H1 since they need the proof of paychecks and company information.Now , she has to travel to india for a family emergency and the questions is
1. should she use her H1B visa with I-94 card that she got from her H1B approval or she travel on H4 I-94 while traveling back to india
2. When she returns back, will she able to pass the INS port of entry since the INS may see her that she is on H1B and there is no stamp in her passport regarding H1B visa.
3. Is she on legal status as of now?

please advice

Thanks
 
rajiv1231 said:
1. should she use her H1B visa with I-94 card that she got from her H1B approval or she travel on H4 I-94 while traveling back to india
2. When she returns back, will she able to pass the INS port of entry since the INS may see her that she is on H1B and there is no stamp in her passport regarding H1B visa.
3. Is she on legal status as of now?

please advice

Thanks
Click to expand...
1. The US does not care which visa/approval she use when she is leaving the US.THe US cares only when she enters the US.
She needs to surrender I-94 when departing the US.
2. She cannot pass immigration at POE unless she has valid H1 stamp
in her passport.
3. I assume she filed Change of Status(I-539).. Is that right ?
If so, she must be paid as she is on H1 status.. If not being paid, she is violating H1 requirement.. She needs to talk to lawyer.
 
Thanks for getting back to me. I talked to the lawyer and he is saying that as long as I hold a valid h1b visa, she should be able to enter the usa on h4 visa again. but her h1b visa will be invalid and she needs to file an amended petition for her new h1b and that is subject to approval again.
I suggested to my friend to have 2-3 recent paystubs from her employer and go to canada or mexico for change of status visa. Question is
1. will she be able to get the h1b visa there since she does not have any us degree and she had bachelors from india?
2. what are the things that needs to be done for her to go through the process of going to canada or mexico? please advice?

Thanks
Rajiv
 
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