H4 petition based on H1 I-797

[ImmiInno]

I'm currently on H1B and my visa was stamped a year ago when I went to India. I will be getting married sometime in early 2012. Now I'm also looking for a change of jobs. If I take up a new job before my marriage, then in all likelihood my new employer will petition for H1B transfer. So I will have my I-797 approval notice in hand but my passport will still show visa that is no longer valid. Here are my questions

1. Can my fiancee (who is in India) file for H4 based on my new I-797 approval alone?
2. Since I will not be leaving the US until my wedding, I will have to get my new H1 stamping done only when I visit India for my wedding. Is this ok? Will there be a problem if I get my stamping done around the same time that my wife is also going to get her H4 visa approved?


Thank you.

[shervin143]

1. Can my fiancee (who is in India) file for H4 based on my new I-797 approval alone?
>>> Yes.

2. Since I will not be leaving the US until my wedding, I will have to get my new H1 stamping done only when I visit India for my wedding. Is this ok? Will there be a problem if I get my stamping done around the same time that my wife is also going to get her H4 visa approved?
>>> No issues. You can still use the old valid visa (from previous employer) with the new approval notice to re-enter U.S. You don't need to go for the visa stamping again just because you changed employers.