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I recently received my GC and probably will be able to provide you some light. IPlease not I am not a lawyer).
IF you have applied for AOS for you and your wife, you are always in status till your case is adjudicated.
H1, EAD has nothing to do with you and your wife\'s status. You can stay in US with your H1 expired and even without having any EAD as long as your AOS is pending. . However to work you need either H1 or EAD. think about dependent kids. Even if their H4 expires, they are in status. In my case my H1 expired in Jan., I never filed for extension, still my GC was approved.
EAD, by the very name, authorizes you to work. If you have a valid H1 from your employer, you do not need EAD. Safe to have EAD, but not absolutely required.
If your H1 expired and you have EAD, do not worry. Continue to work. If you do not have EAD and H1 expired, file for extension, continue to work.
With H1 you can travel out of country even if you have filed AOS if and only if you are working for the same employer and you have multiple entry stamped to your passport. If not stamped you have to go to consulate to get one or get it stamped here via. mail. Same case for your wife. She can travel only if her H4 is valid (stamped on her passport for multiple entry) and she has not used her EAD. (Some lawyer differ in this opinion. They say using EAD does not matter for getting back to H status). But the way I interpret INS regulation is, if you have used your EAD and not with your company, you can not return back to H status. Same with your wife. If she has used EAD, she can not go back to H4. You need AP in this case to travel.
If I were you, I would have applied for AP and EAD to be safe, but the decision is yours.
In my case I did not have AP but travelled to India on H1 and my dependents on H4 since we had multiple entry stamps on our passport.
I asked my wife not to work before our trip to India even though she had EAD.
Hope this helps.
I recently received my GC and probably will be able to provide you some light. IPlease not I am not a lawyer).
IF you have applied for AOS for you and your wife, you are always in status till your case is adjudicated.
H1, EAD has nothing to do with you and your wife\'s status. You can stay in US with your H1 expired and even without having any EAD as long as your AOS is pending. . However to work you need either H1 or EAD. think about dependent kids. Even if their H4 expires, they are in status. In my case my H1 expired in Jan., I never filed for extension, still my GC was approved.
EAD, by the very name, authorizes you to work. If you have a valid H1 from your employer, you do not need EAD. Safe to have EAD, but not absolutely required.
If your H1 expired and you have EAD, do not worry. Continue to work. If you do not have EAD and H1 expired, file for extension, continue to work.
With H1 you can travel out of country even if you have filed AOS if and only if you are working for the same employer and you have multiple entry stamped to your passport. If not stamped you have to go to consulate to get one or get it stamped here via. mail. Same case for your wife. She can travel only if her H4 is valid (stamped on her passport for multiple entry) and she has not used her EAD. (Some lawyer differ in this opinion. They say using EAD does not matter for getting back to H status). But the way I interpret INS regulation is, if you have used your EAD and not with your company, you can not return back to H status. Same with your wife. If she has used EAD, she can not go back to H4. You need AP in this case to travel.
If I were you, I would have applied for AP and EAD to be safe, but the decision is yours.
In my case I did not have AP but travelled to India on H1 and my dependents on H4 since we had multiple entry stamps on our passport.
I asked my wife not to work before our trip to India even though she had EAD.
Hope this helps.