qwertyisback said:
Agreed, I was told same thing by my lawyer, when I obtained my first EAD. Lawyer told me specifically that once you got EAD, you are nomore in H1 status and have to use EAD for all purpose wherever H1 is required.
i am surprised such an old non-issue is being discussed... here's the scoop:
having an EAD and
using an EAD to work are two different things. it is important to understand that when you apply for adjustment of status (AOS) for permanent residence, it confers upon you a status, called "adjustee" status, that is
in addition to any other valid non-immigrant status you may have prior to such application, as long as that prior non-immigrant status is a recognized "dual-intent" status; in other words, filing your AOS does not invalidate your H or L status; it
will invalidate your F or B status.
so if you are an H1B worker, you can continue to work and travel on your H1 status and visa. you may also
apply for and receive an EAD and/or AP on the basis of your adjustee status, but that will
NOT change your H1 status. if you actually
USE your EAD status to work, that
WILL invalidate your EAD status. here's how that happens:
1. if at your PRIMARY place of H1-based employment, you file a new form I-9 replacing H1B with EAD as your legal basis of employment, that will invalidate your H1 status.
2. if you find an additional job, including part-time or contract, on the basis of your EAD, any other H1 status is invalidated. if you have found an additional job on the basis of EAD, then you are legally required to update your I-9 record at your primary place of H1-based employment to change to EAD as well.
travelling:
if you have a valid H1 visa as well as an AP, you can use
either to re-enter. if you use AP, it will
NOT invalidate your H1 (only use of EAD does that).
here's a scenario:
let's say your H1 status and visa is about to expire. you have filed for an extension, and you decide to travel on the basis of your AP, since your H1 visa stamp will be past its validity date when you return. you can reenter on AP, then when your H1 extension or transfer has been approved, you can start working on it right away. if, for for the sake of argument, the use of AP had invalidated your H1 status, then the extension approval would also not have had any validity either. you would have had to apply for for a new H1, or work only on EAD. many people think that this is so; this used to be the case, but the erstwhile INS had changed the regulations in june 2000.
bottom line: the officer at the POE was wrong. that is hardly surprising: a lot of these minimum wage border officials are pretty ignorant of the law.
