H4 EAD extension I94 is near to expiration

USA H4EAD
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1

Hi,

My employer filed my H1b extension I-129 and my wife I-539 in early august, we haven’t received any approvals yet.

I’ve filed H4 EAD extension separately in December while still both my H1 and her H4 are pending.
Since both of our I94s are expiring on 1/14/2024, I went ahead, and I’ve requested premium processing today 1/5/24 and made the payment. Mostly likely the premium processing should be started by Immigration Lawyers at least by Monday 1/8/24.

We’re concerned as how all the 180-day extension works in this scenario, what if the approvals come if past our I94 expiry date, can my wife take a break from work and resume once the approvals are in place? should we travel to get I-94 updated and then send the updated I-94 to USCIS for EAD extension and will this help in being the automatic extension period?

I appreciate any comments and feedback on this situation.

2

H4 I-94 should be valid for EAD extension to work. So if the H4 EOS approval comes after I-94 expiry, H4 will need to stop working from the I-94 expiry to the H4 approval.

Once the H4 is approved, you can send the copy of approval notice to USCIS center processing your EAD with a cover letter and copy of the EAD receipt notice.