Hello,
My H-1B status is currently expiring in February 2024 and so is my wife’s H-4 visa. My wife isn’t currently in the U.S. but will be arriving at the beginning of June. I have an approved I-140, using which I was thinking of applying for my wife’s EAD application. Could someone please recommend what would be the recommended course of action from the below options? Please suggest more options if there are any I have overlooked.
- I apply for her H-4 EAD as soon as she arrives as a standalone application. With the current processing times, I expect this will take anywhere between 5 - 10 months. Given my H-1B renewal will start around August (6 months before expiry), should I then be filing her H-4 extension + a new EAD application simultaneously? That means there’ll be 2 concurrent EAD applications in the system. Is that allowed?
- I apply for her H-4 EAD as soon as she arrives as a standalone application. Given my H-1B renewal will start around August (6 months before expiry), I don’t file her H-4 extension and EAD simultaneously. I let her standalone application finish (it’ll only be effectively valid for only 2 months i.e. December onwards given the current waiting times). She can go to India in December, renew her visa + status and come back, and then re-apply for EAD. Does she qualify for an automatic re-extension here since her I-94 validity will be greater than her EAD validity?
- I don’t apply for H-4 EAD as a standalone application in June and apply for H-1B extension + H-4 extension and H4-EAD (first time) together in August. What are the pros of this approach? I effectively have lost 2 months (June vs. August).
Could someone also please comment on what travel restrictions apply to her in either of the 3 options?
Thank you in advance.