i539 application pending - AVR

[siddsin]

Hello,

I have a h4 from my spouses previous employer which is valid till September 2022. I am clearly in status and have been working for the last few months on the H4 EAD.

We filed for the new h4 under the new employer last year but that is still with the USCIS for the last one year.

For AVR, it says that one should not have -

• Applied for a new visa which has not yet been issued;

Does this fall under that category?

 

[swan0206]

Hello,

I have a h4 from my spouses previous employer which is valid till September 2022. I am clearly in status and have been working for the last few months on the H4 EAD.

We filed for the new h4 under the new employer last year but that is still with the USCIS for the last one year.

For AVR, it says that one should not have -

• Applied for a new visa which has not yet been issued;

Does this fall under that category?

If your new H-4 is under progress, it get voided as soon as you travel outside the country. Are you willing to let it go? If not , you have to wait till it gets approved.

 

[siddsin]

If your new H-4 is under progress, it get voided as soon as you travel outside the country. Are you willing to let it go? If not , you have to wait till it gets approved.

I've waited for it for a year, yet to come through. My h4 status is still valid till September 2022 (from my spouses previous company), so even if the current application gets voided, I am okay to come back and reapply later on along with the H4 EAD renewal.

And the CoPR expires 14 days from today, so we have to go for the soft landing.

 

[siddsin]

If your new H-4 is under progress, it get voided as soon as you travel outside the country. Are you willing to let it go? If not , you have to wait till it gets approved.

But if I am willing to let it go, basically just apply again after I re-enter, we should be okay right? okay to re-enter USA

 

[swan0206]

But if I am willing to let it go, basically just apply again after I re-enter, we should be okay right? okay to re-enter USA

There is no problem for you to let it go. Also, as you already have a valid i-94 you are good to re-enter. But i am not sure if Cbp officer asks for your new h4 document as your spouse has moved to new employer. Talk to your attorney once. or we can wait for experts to pitch in . @harirajmohan @scylla

 

[harirajmohan]

But if I am willing to let it go, basically just apply again after I re-enter, we should be okay right? okay to re-enter USA

There is no problem for you to let it go. Also, as you already have a valid i-94 you are good to re-enter. But i am not sure if Cbp officer asks for your new h4 document as your spouse has moved to new employer. Talk to your attorney once. or we can wait for experts to pitch in . @harirajmohan @scylla

In 2016, my family didnt have new H4 based on new employer but i took risk traveling with my family using the previous company's H4's extended I94.
My new company at that time didnt want to pay additional money since the previous company's H4 had enough validity.

So i cant fully suggest that one should use it since i am also not fully clear if we are legally allowed to use it 100%(that too while traveling internationally mainly using AVR).

We had no issues entering.(later the pending H4 (which i applied to extend based on new company's H1 before we went to Canada) was denied because we got new I94 from cbp while we returned after soft-landing).

 

[siddsin]

In 2016, my family didnt have new H4 based on new employer but i took risk traveling with my family using the previous company's H4's extended I94.
My new company at that time didnt want to pay additional money since the previous company's H4 had enough validity.

So i cant fully suggest that one should use it since i am also not fully clear if we are legally allowed to use it 100%(that too while traveling internationally mainly using AVR).

We had no issues entering.(later the pending H4 (which i applied to extend based on new company's H1 before we went to Canada) was denied because we got new I94 from cbp while we returned after soft-landing).

Thank you for your advice! In case I dont want to take the risk and travel, can we try for an extension from IRCC? Or do we have to reapply?

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank you for your advice! In case I dont want to take the risk and travel, can we try for an extension from IRCC? Or do we have to reapply?

Check with your company immigration/lawyer team.
It might be legal too as few like me traveled with old H4's I94.

Not sure if IRCC will extend when the border is fully open.

 

[siddsin]

Check with your company immigration/lawyer team.
It might be legal too as few like me traveled with old H4's I94.

Not sure if IRCC will extend when the border is fully open.

Is there an option for my spouse to travel to Canada and do the soft landing. In the future, she can possibly sponsor me?

 

[harirajmohan]

Is there an option for my spouse to travel to Canada and do the soft landing. In the future, she can possibly sponsor me?

Principal applicant needs to first land.
sponsoring cant be done from outside hence principal applicant needs to move in to Canada and then start the process. its lengthy to restart process(even if its for dependents).

First check with your lawyer if you can travel.
if not let the principal applicant land and then you can try to extend copr for others.

Dont take decision just based on this. Talk to your immigration team if you can travel. Before knowing you shouldnt make up your mind on landing alone. Lets see what your employer team say about traveling.

 

[siddsin]

I called up an attorney (not the company one) and asked him, who said that as of right now I am not in status since my spouse changed her job. The only way I am in status currently is because the extension is filed. So he said its a 50-50 and if they let me in it would be a mistake and I'll have to come back in and immediately reapply for extension, otherwise this will result in a lapse in my status and will create issues later on ( if we ever apply for i-485 etc).

Thing is - nobody is able to give a sure-shot answer.

My wife's h1b visa (with the last employer) has been revoked, so I am not sure if that is of any relevance for my current i797 because from what I know, I dont have to apply for my h4 until I am going out of status.

 

[siddsin]

After so much back and forth - I just checked the USCIS website - and my h4 has been approved. We just hope to get it in the next couple of days so that I can travel this weekend to Canada.