Can we travel during H1 renewal being filed

[san_dis]

I and my wife have H1 and H4 visa till July 2006. I plan to apply for my H1B renewal in Jan 2006.
Is it possible for us to travel in Mid Jan to India and come back in mid March. We will still have few months of valid stay on our visa.
Does we need to be physically present in the country when we file for H-1B renewal or during the renewal process?
Advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[immihelp]

If your visa stamp has expired, you will need to get a new stamp in India, before coming back. And for that, you need approval.

If your H1 status has expired by the time you come back to US, you will need to wait in India before you can come back. You can come back with H1 status extension approval and valid visa stamp.

You don't have to be physically present in US while H1 renewal process.

[san_dis]

Thanks for your advise.
But do we need to have the new approval when we come back in march because my present H1B approval and visa is still valid till July 2006.
And I may not get the new H-1 approval by march 2006.

[veena_swsh]

If the old visa on which you have travelled has a few more unexpired months, then you do not need a new approval. You can comfortable travel on the old visa.