Question Regarding Legal Status

[Shyam01]

Hello All !

I have a Unique situation ! Can any one Please Help !!

I am on 7 th Year Extension of my H1B , And my green Card is still in labor stage .

Recently my wife got new H1B as a Occupational Therapist and her H1B is valid from Oct 2004 . And we are in the process of applying Green Card pretty soon.

My company is not in a good situation. In case if my company got closed ,

1 . Can I transfer to H4B status as my wife's depedent
2 . Can I transfer to H4 even if my H1 Period of 6 years is over ! I am on 7 th Year of my H1.

Can you please advise us , Needed very urgently !

Thanks,
Shyam

 

[sdrblr]

No.... H4 counts towards your 6 year stay....please read the below article

The maximum duration of stay in H status is six years. If a person has held more than one type of H status, or has held L status, then stays in all of these statuses are added together to determine how much time remains available. For example, if a person came to the U.S. on an L1 visa, later changed to H1B, and then to H4, it is necessary to add up the period of time spent on all three of those categories towards the 6 year stay allowed.


more info at

http://www.murthy.com/news/UDh1iii.html

 

[Jim Mills]

No.... H4 counts towards your 6 year stay....please read the below article

The maximum duration of stay in H status is six years. If a person has held more than one type of H status, or has held L status, then stays in all of these statuses are added together to determine how much time remains available. For example, if a person came to the U.S. on an L1 visa, later changed to H1B, and then to H4, it is necessary to add up the period of time spent on all three of those categories towards the 6 year stay allowed.


more info at

http://www.murthy.com/news/UDh1iii.html

The answer is actually far more complex than that, at least if I understand the question. In this case, he is eligible for a 7th year extension of his H-1B and wants to know if he can change to H-4. Since there are no regulations for AC21 there is no clear answer. USCIS has different opinions, depending on who you talk to.