H4 and H4 EAD extension after H1B withdraw

Hi Anil,

My previous H1B expired on 05/31/2024, and my old employer filed an H1B extension before that date. My wife also filed her H4 extension and H4 EAD extension before that date. This July, I got a new job, and my new employer filed another H1B transfer for me. Now both my wife and I have received H1B approval notices with an expiration date of 05/31/2025, based on the applications from my old employer. Currently, I haven’t received the approval notice from my new employer’s H1B, and my wife hasn’t received her H4 EAD extension approval notice.

So my question is: If my old employer withdraws the H1B, will that affect my wife’s H4 (approved based on the old employer) and her H4 EAD extension? My concern is that she submitted the H4 EAD extension before the old expiration date (05/31/2024), which granted her an automatic EAD extension of approximately 540 days. If her EAD extension is rejected due to the withdrawal, and she has to resubmit a new EAD application after the old expiration date (05/31/2024), I don’t know if she would still be eligible for the automatic extension.

Have you started working with the new employer after filing H1B transfer?

Yes, I started working with the new employed.

If H4 i94 also expired on 5/31/2024 and the new H4 i94 was not approved/received by 5/31/2024, there is no auto H4 EAD extension available.

Sometimes, they send an RFE to submit new H1B proof if the employer withdraws the H1B.

Thanks. I’m a littile bit confused. What do those two 5/31 dates refer to? To clarify, my wife’s old H4 expiration date is 05/31/2024, and her new H4 expiration date is 05/31/2025 (based on my previous employer’s petition).

5/31/2024

If your wife didn’t had a valid new H4 i94 on 6/1/2024 even when H4 extension (and EAD) was filed before 5/31/2024, there was no EAD auto extension available.

This means that she should have stopped working on 5/31/2024.

I am saying this based on what you have shared and the the sequence of events you have mentioned.

1 Like