H1 B Visa Stamping

[ouseph]

My H1 B Extension is approved and I recevied the I797C with the new I94 . But for my dependent (wife and child) I didn't get I797C , I got only the I797A .

Can I go for the stamping with out the I797A for the dependent .

Thanks
RO

[shervin143]

What are you talking about? I-797A is the one that will come with the I-94. I-797C is a courtesy copy. I-94 has nothing do with visa stamping. Valid petition is what is important for visa stamping. Did your dependent's petitions come with an attached I-94 or not (The I-94 should be attached to the bottom of the approval notice)? Where are your dependents now? Did they travel outside U.S when the petition was pending with USCIS?

[ouseph]

What are you talking about? I-797A is the one that will come with the I-94. I-797C is a courtesy copy. I-94 has nothing do with visa stamping. Valid petition is what is important for visa stamping. Did your dependent's petitions come with an attached I-94 or not (The I-94 should be attached to the bottom of the approval notice)? Where are your dependents now? Did they travel outside U.S when the petition was pending with USCIS?

Hi ,

Sorry for the confusion . I got the I797A with I-94 . But for dependent I didn't get the I797A with I-94 . I got only the I797C.

They are in in US only and they never travel outside US when the application was under process. When I check the EAC recepit number for the dependent it's in the Post Decesion .

I don't know the reason for this. I am travelling to India next month and planning to do the visa stamping in the first week of Nov . With this document (I797C) can I fix a appointment.

Thanks
RO

[kabkaba]

There are two separate applications. I-129 filed by your employer to extend your status. You have the approval notice for that with I-94.
There is also the I-539 filed by your dependents and you only have receipt notice for that. It means it is not approved yet. Did you read the notice? Does it say approved? Does the online status for this receipt number show approved or post-decision activity? What is the date for that online status?After approval your dependents will receive another notice with new I-94's.

In the meanwhile if their current I-94's have expired, they should not leave the US while their I-539 is pending. Wait for their new I-94's that come with approval notice, staple all I-94's together and submit to the airline when you leave the US. For returning, you will need valid Visas and you will need your H1 petition approval notice. At port of entry, all of you will get new I-94 corresponding to the new H1 approval notice.

[ouseph]

There are two separate applications. I-129 filed by your employer to extend your status. You have the approval notice for that with I-94.
There is also the I-539 filed by your dependents and you only have receipt notice for that. It means it is not approved yet. Did you read the notice? Does it say approved? Does the online status for this receipt number show approved or post-decision activity? What is the date for that online status?After approval your dependents will receive another notice with new I-94's.

In the meanwhile if their current I-94's have expired, they should not leave the US while their I-539 is pending. Wait for their new I-94's that come with approval notice, staple all I-94's together and submit to the airline when you leave the US. For returning, you will need valid Visas and you will need your H1 petition approval notice. At port of entry, all of you will get new I-94 corresponding to the new H1 approval notice.

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

Online status says that it's approved and it's in post decesion activity and it's showing the date as Aug 17th . I confirmed this with the USCIS .

If I didn't get the new I-94 , is there will be in any issue while going back and going for visa stamp while in India

Thanks
RO

[kabkaba]

I assume you are talking about online status for the I-539 extension of status and not the I-129 H1 petition. If so, the extended I-94 will have the same number as before and hence all your dependents need to do is submit their old I-94's to the airline while leaving.

[shervin143]

Who filed the extension for your dependents? Did you file it yourself or did your employer or the company lawyer filed it? What you have receipted is a courtesy copy of the approval notice. I-797C will never have the I-94 attached. If it is filed by your employer/attorney, check with them to see if they received the approval notice with the I-94. If yes, they should handover the I-94s to you.

[ouseph]

Who filed the extension for your dependents? Did you file it yourself or did your employer or the company lawyer filed it? What you have receipted is a courtesy copy of the approval notice. I-797C will never have the I-94 attached. If it is filed by your employer/attorney, check with them to see if they received the approval notice with the I-94. If yes, they should handover the I-94s to you.

Hi ,

It is applied by the employer and i got the reply that they have not yet received the approval notice.

As I mention eralier , If I don't have the approval notice, is this will prevent the stamping of the visa for the dependenat. Although I am the primary applicant and I have the approval notice and the latest I-94 .

Thanks
RO

[ouseph]

I assume you are talking about online status for the I-539 extension of status and not the I-129 H1 petition. If so, the extended I-94 will have the same number as before and hence all your dependents need to do is submit their old I-94's to the airline while leaving.

Hi ,

yes I am talking about the online status of I-539. So while leaving the country the I need to just submit whatever I-94 I have for the dependenats and me.

Without the approval hard copy fro the dependenat , can I raise the visa stamping request .

Thanks
RO

[shervin143]

Visa stamping is not a problem. H4 visa is issued based on your I-797 approval notice. The approval notice of the dependents are not required for the H4 visa stamping. The problem here is, without a valid I-94, any time spend in U.S after the current I-94 expiry date will be treated as illegal stay which can cause issues. If there was indeed an I-94 associated with the approval and for some weird reason you did not receive the I-797A and only receive I-797C, then upon yuor return, you will not return that I-94 and there will not be proper exit record against that I-94. Either the I-797A has not reached you yet or I am sure the employer or the company attorney should have received it. You can also check with USCIS to see where origibal was mailed.

Again, visa stamping is not an issue if that is the only thing you are worried about.