H4 visa at Chennai consulate

B

bharad1

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I am currently on an H1 visa valid till June and my wife has an H4 until then. I received an H1B Extension approval last week valid until June 2004. Can my wife who is currently in India use the approval notice to get a H4 stamped on her passport at the Chennai consulate next week?
She will return to the US end of April. Are there any issues with applying so early (she has a H4 stamp valid till june 2003). Does the consulate require that I get the H1B stamped on my passport before she can apply for the H4 stamping?
If denied, are there any issues she may face while travelling back
on her existing H4. Anyone who has experience, please comment.

Thanks,
Bharad
 
why did you not get her H4 extneded as well ??

Now you have to go thru all the crap that chennai consulate dishes out...check their website to see if they need H1 visa to process H4 visa.
I think you can get her H4 visa revalidated...
why would they deny ? if you think this could be an issue. ask her to come back before june 2003 and then file for her H4 extn ASAP..please dont take this matter lightly...there are many people of this board who have messed up their families immigration process since they neglect to extned the H4 visas.
 
I couldn't extend H4 as she was already out of the country
when I filed, and in that case H4 extension cannot be filed
in the US according to my attorney...

The reason I mentioned denial was that my attorney mentioned
that consulates don't like issuing visa extensions too early,ie,
they might reject just because there's an existing visa till
mid-june and so why issue an extension in april..
anyone with any such experience?

Bharad
 
h4 stamped with just h1 approval notice

i got my daughters h4 visa stamped with my husbands h1 approval notice, his p.p h1 visa expired long back. I was nervous too, that madras counsalte might ask for the h1 stamp on my hubby's p.p, but they dint ask for that.

My daughters p.p h4 visa was until jan.2003 and we sent for h4 renewal around jan.12th.
 
Thanks, confuseDesi!

I guess that answers one question.
Does anyone have experience with filing for a H4 or any other visa extension at Chennai with 2months+ remaining on their present visa?
The reason for trying to get this done is an H4 extension of status + visa revalidation could take more than 6 months and I am trying to avoid that if possible...

Bharad
 
H4 stamping

Hi guys,

I got my H1 stamped a few days back. I have pay stubs for two months. I am planning to apply H4 for my wife and son who are in India. Is showing two months of pay stub is enough?.

Please advice.
 
confusedesi,
Was your husband;s approval notice for a visa transfer or extension for the same company?
 
H4 stamped

Hi,

I just learned that my wife's H4 visa has been stamped at Chennai. It took 10 days from drop-off to receipt.
I didn't send the original I-797, just a copy and that was enough.
They also didn't need the H1 visa stamp on my passport.

Bharad
 
I sent:

1. copy of I-797 (not certified)
2. employer Work letter from confirming current employment
3. Marriage certificate + other proof of marriage like photos, invites (not sure if reqd for extensions but to be safe...)
4. Copy of my passport showing all non blank pages (which included previous H1 visa stamp for same employer).
5. ~ 6 months of paystubs, bank statements, 2002 W-2.
6. Copy of complete H1 petition including LCA.
8. Pictures of workplace, both inside and outside.

I don't know if things like photos are important. The last time my wife applied for H4 from Chennai, we didn't submit these and still got stamped.
 
no photo's

hi armie....

the h4 stamping was for a 2nd time on my daughters p.p. we just sent my husbands h1 copy, company letter stating that he is working with them as so&so and making so&so$$, bank stmts, recent paystubs and w2 and original birth certificate of my kid (in case of wife i guess marriage cert)and all 36 pages copy of my husbands p.port. we dint send any photo's stuff. If the h4 is for a 1st time stamping then i think LCA is required. btw it was at madras counselate..i donno why people say send photos etc and make it more complicated..??
dont panic, if u still need confirmation send an email to their website, they will reply with a list of documentation..
 
armie..
I agree with confusedesi though that you can probably get away with no workplace photos. The reason people keep mentioning photos is because the Chennai consulate website lists it as reqd for H1 and H4.
Regding submitting a copy of the H1B petition, I think it's better to submit it. It is listed as reqd by the consulate and it contains the I-129, LCA, financial (and other) info. about the company, H1B holders educational qualifications, copies of I-94 etc. which all help to convince them that a valid job exists and the H1 holder is in status. You might get away without it but why take a chance?
Also, Chennai is very prompt with email responses. They confirmed for me that I-797 original was not reqd, and the H1 stamp on passport was not necessary for H4 stamp so email them if any doubts. You can get the address from their website.
 
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