Urgent : travelling on OPT having job offer in hand

[User700]

Hi Folks,

I am on H-1. My wife was on H-4 Visa. Her Visa was stamped till Dec 2009. Later on she converted to F-1 status in March 2009 after enrolling for her Masters. She is now in her graduating semester (graduating on May 1 2010). She is currently working on CPT and also applied for her OPT which we are expecting to get it by end of April. She will resume her employment on OPT from May onwards. She has employment letter from her Employer and is also endorsed on her I-20.

We might have to travel to India in June. Can anyone tell me what are the steps involved ? Also since her Passport contain H-4 stamping (expired now) does she needs to apply for F-1 ? Will there be any complications in F-1 stamping as her studies will be completed when she will attend the interview.

Could anyone please let me know if they encountered similar scenraio or in general what is the implication of attending F-1 interview in above scenario

Thanks.

[aaydrian]

F-1 Stamping

If you wife's status is F-1 and does not have the stamping then yes she would have to go to the embassy to get her F-1 stamping done as her H4 is no longer valid to re enter. All school DSO's do state that traveling on OPT is risky as the applicant may be denied entry, so they always put a word of caution while traveling especially on OPT. The worst case scenario is that if she gets rejected for F-1 visa stamp, then she has to apply for H4 visa again to enter the USA. Then she may not be able to work for the company as her OPT is canceled. She may then apply for H-1 based on her masters while on H4 in the US.

Disclaimer: I am not an attorney, please use any advise at your own risk