Worked on H4 visa with pending H1B receipt - Previous H1B visa holder

[ss_visa]

Hi,

My wife previously held H1B visa from July 2009 to September 2012. She went for stamping in October 2011 and her case was taking a long time to process. The consulate didn't give any 221G for administrative processing, they said they need to verify a few things. The process took nearly 5 months. She applied for H4 and came to the US in March 2012. Her employer applied for H1B change of status in May 2012 and told us she can start working immediately. Her H1B approval came in November 2012 and she was working till then. We were under the impression that we can work after H1B receipt as she is a previous H1B holder within the previous year. Now we came to know that the time she worked from May 2012 to November 2012 might be of question by USCIS. We were told by her attorney we can work and that is why she started working. Can you please help us in figuring out a way to fix this. This is not intentional and there should be a way to fix/explain this. Please let us know. Thanks.

1 -> H1B Visa - July 2009 to September 2012
2 -> Went for stamping in October 2011. Visa approval got delayed.
3 -> Came to US on H4 in March 2012
4 -> Applied for H1B Change of status in May 2012 and started working after getting H1B receipt
5 -> H1B approved on November 2012. May 2012 to November 2012 worked on H4 due to wrong guidance by attorney

With Regards,
SS_VISA.

[raghvi]

Hi,

My wife previously held H1B visa from July 2009 to September 2012. She went for stamping in October 2011 and her case was taking a long time to process. The consulate didn't give any 221G for administrative processing, they said they need to verify a few things. The process took nearly 5 months. She applied for H4 and came to the US in March 2012. Her employer applied for H1B change of status in May 2012 and told us she can start working immediately. Her H1B approval came in November 2012 and she was working till then. We were under the impression that we can work after H1B receipt as she is a previous H1B holder within the previous year. Now we came to know that the time she worked from May 2012 to November 2012 might be of question by USCIS. We were told by her attorney we can work and that is why she started working. Can you please help us in figuring out a way to fix this. This is not intentional and there should be a way to fix/explain this. Please let us know. Thanks.

1 -> H1B Visa - July 2009 to September 2012
2 -> Went for stamping in October 2011. Visa approval got delayed.
3 -> Came to US on H4 in March 2012
4 -> Applied for H1B Change of status in May 2012 and started working after getting H1B receipt
5 -> H1B approved on November 2012. May 2012 to November 2012 worked on H4 due to wrong guidance by attorney

With Regards,
SS_VISA.

This looks like your attorney didnt file a cap exempt petition in May 2012 but rather a new petition. If this is the case, your spouse shouldnt have worked from May 2012 till Nov 2012 and if she has worked it was illegal.
Maintaining ones status is own responsibility. I dont know if you can pursue a case against the lawyer if indeed he advised you wrong but you should have also not trusted his words and advice blindly for 6 Months. And what have you done to correct this since last 9 Months? Its better you talk to an independent lawyer as to how best this can be corrected.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[ss_visa]

This looks like your attorney didnt file a cap exempt petition in May 2012 but rather a new petition. If this is the case, your spouse shouldnt have worked from May 2012 till Nov 2012 and if she has worked it was illegal.
Maintaining ones status is own responsibility. I dont know if you can pursue a case against the lawyer if indeed he advised you wrong but you should have also not trusted his words and advice blindly for 6 Months. And what have you done to correct this since last 9 Months? Its better you talk to an independent lawyer as to how best this can be corrected.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks Raghvi. Can you please let me know how I can check if the employer filed a cap exempt petition or a regular petition. Thanks.

With Regards,
SS_VISA.

[ss_visa]

Thanks Raghvi. Can you please let me know how I can check if the employer filed a cap exempt petition or a regular petition. Thanks.

With Regards,
SS_VISA.

Anyone else please share your suggestions. Thanks Raghvi for yours, just wanted to get more opinions. Thanks.

With Regards,
SS_VISA.