H4 to H1B, Do I need a visa stamp?

[sandiegotechie]

I recently came to the US in August 2006 on H4 Visa and prior to that I was living in India. My H1B visa was filed in April 2006 (while I was in India) and it recently got approved. The I-94 on my passport says H4 Visa and is valid till end of next year (2007). Do I need to go out of country to get my H1B visa stamped to start working or Can I start working on the basis of H1B approval notice?

[leifbooger]

you can start working on the H1b approval. you need to apply for a social security number which you can get in the nearest social security office.

[suresh24]

Do you have I-94 along with approval?

If yes, no issues. You can start working from October 1 as H-1B status is going to kick in from that date.

If no, then you have two options:

You can apply for Change of Status, and you cannot start working until it is approved or get a H-1B stamp from US consulate and enter US on H-1.

Hope this helps.