H1B change of employer with wife's H4 COS pending

USA
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1

Hi,

I am currently on H1B and applied for my wife’s COS from B1 to H4 on May 28. I got laid off from my current employer and my last date of employment here (paycheck last date) is August 30. I have already found a new job and waiting for them to start the H1B transfer.

My wife’s I-94 expires on Aug 6 and since I filed for a COS to H4 (receipt received), I am assuming that she can stay in the US until the COS case is processed. Here are my questions:

1- With the current process time for COS being 3.5 -4 months, should I file for a new H4 petition along with my H1B transfer? Realistically this could happen only by Aug 15 because of the new company’s internal process. If the H4 petition is filed after Aug 6(I-94 deadline for my wife), will it be a problem or will it be considered as bridging since I already filed for a COS.

2- If I don’t file for a new H4 COS for my wife, will the old H4 COS petition get processed smoothly? If my previous employer withdraws the H1B will there be any issues?

Kindly help.

2

It would be better to file H4 too with your H1B transfer.

Technically, you should not be required to do so since H4 COS is already pending but with their outdated systems, they sometimes don’t see the existing applications and then send RFEs (which delays things).