H4-H1 adjustment of status and stamping - Please help

[amitrk]

Hi,
My wife applied for H4 and H1 from India almost at the same time (in May this year). She got her H4 visa stamped this July and is still waiting for her H1 approval. She will be coming to US this October on H4. After she comes here, I would be applying for her Adjustment of Status from H4 to H1, which probably could take 3-6 months.

So, my question is - Could she start working in the US after her adjustment of status without an H1 visa stamp or would she have to go out of US for visa stamping before starting to work in the US?

The reason I am bringing up this question is because she applied for H1 from India, not from the US. I had read somewhere that if someone applies for H1 from India, then one has to get the visa stamped before starting to work.

Thanks for all your help.

[leifbooger]

Yes, hers would be a new H1b case not an adjustment of status. Since she did not convert the H4 to H1. So she would need an H1 stamp and a social security number to start working. After she arrives in the US, if you apply for adjustment of status H4 to H1 (apply for a new H1) then you would not need to stamp the visa to work.