H4 EAD! Can I apply 2 applications(new EAD followed by renewal) with USCIS?

[Waitingforevercali]

I am currently on H4. My spouse who is on H1B just got his I140 approved.
My spouse's current H1B visa is valid till DEC-2022.
I want to apply for EAD, Below is the sequence I have planned to take care of my situation:
MAY-2022: I plan to apply for my H4 EAD immediately now as I am currently eligible to apply based on his I140. It might be valid only till DEC-2022 as per my and his current visa validity.
AUG-2022: My spouse will apply for his visa extension in premium.
OCT-2022: I will travel out of country and get my visa stamped(faster than applying H4 from here) for extension.
NOV-2022: I plan to apply for EAD renewal even though I wouldn't have received the initial EAD by then.

If I apply my EAD now(in MAY 2022), considering the current EAD wait time of 8.5-10.5months I would get the EAD decision only by Jan/FEB-2023.
But by then my spouse's H1B extension would already be approved. So then I should be eligible for EAD further than DEC-2022.
As per the current Automatic extension rule EAD can be extended for 540 days.

My question is can I apply for renewal of my EAD say by DEC-2022 even before the decision of my first EAD application is given by USCIS so that I get the automatic extension. Would I be eligible for this rule when my original EAD application will be pending with USCIS?

Is there a better way to handle this situation? Please help advice!

Thanks

[shiva_82]

Not sure if you can apply for a renewal while you never received an EAD. You are basically just assuming that your initial application would be approved which I believe is not good enough to apply for an extension. I would let other experts in this group to respond with their thoughts.

It's recommend that your husband applies for this H1B extension in Jun, in premium instead of waiting until later. You apply for your EAD along with that application for visa extension along with your HR. Basically, H1B extension, H4 extension and new EAD application all will be sent at the same time. It is less confusing and you only lose a month from applying now which I believe is reasonable considering you avoid all the confusion, you don't need to travel out of the country and you save the money from applying for EAD twice. Just my thought.

[Waitingforevercali]

Basically, H1B extension, H4 extension and new EAD application all will be sent at the same time. It is less confusing and you only lose a month from applying now which I believe is reasonable considering you avoid all the confusion, you don't need to travel out of the country and you save the money from applying for EAD twice. Just my thought.

Thank you Shiva for your time and advice on this! I really appreciate it!

We have decided to file my spouse's H1B, my H4 and my EAD all in one package. Only thing is since I will only have the current visa till DEC-2022, my EAD might also be issued with DEC2022 validity.In order to get my EAD extended, I will either have to travel to India after as soon as my spouses's H1b extension is approved to get my stamping or visit a CBP to get my I94 extended and send that I94 to USCIS so that my EAD is longer than DEC-2022. Please advice if this would be the right approach.

[shiva_82]

Thank you Shiva for your time and advice on this! I really appreciate it!

We have decided to file my spouse's H1B, my H4 and my EAD all in one package. Only thing is since I will only have the current visa till DEC-2022, my EAD might also be issued with DEC2022 validity.In order to get my EAD extended, I will either have to travel to India after as soon as my spouses's H1b extension is approved to get my stamping or visit a CBP to get my I94 extended and send that I94 to USCIS so that my EAD is longer than DEC-2022. Please advice if this would be the right approach.

My understanding is that when you are applying for EAD along with an extension, they will wait until you H4 extension is approved to provide you EAD with the new end dates. Typically EAD is approved soon after H4 approval. I'm not sure if you can do premium processing for H4 extension now. They were considering some categories to be added under premium processing which were not eligible earlier. Not sure if H4 got added to that. Please check and use that option if it's available. All the best

[KevinVerdin]

Thanks for the suggestion. I also want to apply for EAD and for that I was searching for some help online. I was actually searching for liteblue guide online and while searching for it online, I found your post.