RFE for H4 EAD renewal (possibly due to international travel while EAD renewal in progress)

USA H4EAD
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1

Hi All,

Need help on this matter. My wife got an RFE for H4 EAD renewal. H4 EAD renewal was submitted after H4 was approved.

Here is the timeline.

H1B Transferred on July 11th 2023
H4 Approved on July 21 2023.

H4 EAD renewal submitted in November 2023.

Did an international travel in December 2023 to a nearby country and entered back using previous visa stamp valid till Feb 10 2024

RFE received in April 2024:

Following is the RFE Questionnaire that is requested by USCIS:

" Proof of Your Spouse H-1B Nonimmigrant Status

USCIS records indicate that prior Form I-129, Application to Extend NonImmigrant status with receipt number XXXX was approved on July 11 2023 and extend your H-1B status from July 17, 2023 to July 16, 2026.

However, USCIS records also indicate that after the approval of your form I-129 XXXXX your spouse entered the US on Dec 2023, and your H4 status was limited to February 20, 2024. It appears your H-1B status has expired.

Submit evidence to establish that you currently hold H-4 nonimmigrant status as the spouse of
an H-1B non immigrant. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to

  1. A copy of your spouse Form I-797, Notice of Approval. for your Form I-129.
  2. A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record.
  3. The receipt number of your approved Form I-129, if filed earlier; and/or
  4. A legible copy of the personal data pages of your passport, the visas on which your spouse last entered the united states, and the latest U.S. admission stamps in your passport.

" Proof of Your H-4 Nonimmigrant Status

USCIS records indicate that prior Form I-539, Application to Extend NonImmigrant status with receipt number XXXX was approved on July 21 2023 and extend your H-4 status from July 17, 2023 to July 16, 2026.

However, USCIS records also indicate that after the approval of your form I-539 you entered the US on Dec 2023, and your H4 status was limited to February 20, 2024. It appears your H4 has expired.

Submit evidence to establish that you currently hold H-4 nonimmigrant status as the spouse of
an H-1B non immigrant. Such evidence may include, but is not limited to

  1. A copy of your Form I-797, Notice of Approval. for your Form I-539.
  2. A copy of your Form I-94, Arrival and Departure Record.
  3. The receipt number of your approved Form I-539, if filed earlier; and/or
  4. A legible copy of the personal data pages of your passport, the visas on which you last entered the united states, and the latest U.S. admission stamps in your passport.

I did provided latest I797 Approval notice and Latest I 539 Approval Notice as part of H4 EAD renewal application. Please help what should I do.

Following questions:

  • Does sending the following documents again will resolve RFE.

  • Also what do we mean by personal data pages of passport.

  • Do we need to send all pages of passport or the visa stamped pages of passport

  • Is ask 1 and ask 3 same(i.e if I send back copy of I129, it will have receipt number)

2

It seems you were issued a new i94 when you re-entered after your most recent international trip and this i94 was restricted to 20 Feb 2024 (Does your passport expire on this date?)

The most recent i94 supersedes the previous ones issued as part of H1B/H4 extension approval.

Hence, I think that’s the reason USCIS is asking to submit a new i94.

More information is needed to help you with the exact reason and suggest next steps.

3

Neither my passport and my wife passport is expiring
My passport expires in 2030
My wife passport expires in 2028

I also checked that I94 Record Number is exactly same for both me and my wife on I94 and I797 Approval Notice.

My Wife’s #### Admission (I-94) Record Number :
936869699A2

Most Recent Date of Entry:

2023 December 29

Class of Admission :

H4

Admit Until Date :

02/20/2024

My I94 record looks the same(w.r.t recent date of entry and admit until date) except the Record Number and class of admission

4

Then, the other reason could be the visa stamp in passport is expiring on 2/20/2024.

If that’s true, you should have shown the extended H1B i797 to get longer i94 at the time of entry.

5

While I returned from US CBP in Miami. It was an automated process to get via port of entry.
Plus I was not aware on this part.

Following questions again?

  • Does sending the following documents again will resolve RFE.

  • Also what do we mean by personal data pages of passport.

  • Do we need to send all pages of passport or the visa stamped pages of passport

  • Is ask 1 and ask 3 same(i.e if I send back copy of I129 it will have receipt number)

6

@anil_am22 Waiting for your response.
Your recommendation/suggestion is really appreciated.

7

I am also in similar situation.Got am RFE for i 94 for my h4 EAD after international travel .Did it get resolved?

8

Call CBP office and explain this situation. You can also email to CBP with your latest approved I-797. They will update your I-94 online.

Once you have your I-94 approved. Respond with your latest I-94 and other necessary documents. Hopefully it will be approved.

I followed the same procedure and my wife’s H4 EAD got approved