Soft landing with ongoing H-4 application

[j9lad]

Hi all,

I am contemplating a soft landing sometime soon. I am on my H-1B with a valid visa stamp and my spouse was under an F-1 student visa, which expired earlier this month. Since my spouse's dependent H-4 application is under processing, what options do we have if were to travel to Canada and come back to the U.S. after a few days?

1. Would AVR be applicable for H-4 application under process?
2. Is it suggested to look for a consular processing by interviewing at a U.S. consulate in Canada for the H-4 visa stamping?

If neither of these options work, I guess the only option is to go for a consular petition in our home country (India), which we want to avoid due to ongoing delays and travel restrictions.

Please advice if there are any optimal options.

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi all,

I am contemplating a soft landing sometime soon. I am on my H-1B with a valid visa stamp and my spouse was under an F-1 student visa, which expired earlier this month. Since my spouse's dependent H-4 application is under processing, what options do we have if were to travel to Canada and come back to the U.S. after a few days?

1. Would AVR be applicable for H-4 application under process?
2. Is it suggested to look for a consular processing by interviewing at a U.S. consulate in Canada for the H-4 visa stamping?

If neither of these options work, I guess the only option is to go for a consular petition in our home country (India), which we want to avoid due to ongoing delays and travel restrictions.

Please advice if there are any optimal options.

1. No as you need existing valid I94.
2. No idea on wait time hence it depends on that.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/automatic-visa-revalidation-while-h4-extension-is-in-progress.739516/

Other option: Land in Canada. Your spouse can get the stamping done in Canada/India.

 

[j9lad]

Thank you, @harirajmohan. Any idea if consular processing at another country (like Canada) would be frowned upon instead of India?

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank you, @harirajmohan. Any idea if consular processing at another country (like Canada) would be frowned upon instead of India?

I dont see an issue as you are a PR and also many are coming for stamping just as a visitor too.
I think that people are having issues getting timeslots for Canada. So you need to see if you get it in Canada or in India.
Many appointments also get cancelled in Canada. So lot of uncertainty as well. So be aware.

 

[j9lad]

Really appreciate your insights, @harirajmohan. Thank you so much. We are in a crucial situation and need to take an important call.

Just two questions:
1. I forgot to mention earlier - my spouse currently has an expired F-1 student visa. The expiry date was July 2021 and we have filed for an H-4 petition. Can this scenario still be eligible for an AVR?
2. In case AVR is not possible, we are considering traveling to Canada for a couple of weeks and trying for a consular processing appointment in Canada. My H-1B visa is stamped and I can return back to the U.S. without issues. Can that be used for getting an emergency visa appointment?
Reference: "If your spouse is in US and you are getting visa to join them." (https://redbus2us.com/visas/usa/apply-india/emergency-us-visa-appointment/)


Once again, your guidance has been helpful and I'd be thankful if you could share your suggestions on our scenario to complete our landing process.

 

[harirajmohan]

Really appreciate your insights, @harirajmohan. Thank you so much. We are in a crucial situation and need to take an important call.

Just two questions:
1. I forgot to mention earlier - my spouse currently has an expired F-1 student visa. The expiry date was July 2021 and we have filed for an H-4 petition. Can this scenario still be eligible for an AVR?
2. In case AVR is not possible, we are considering traveling to Canada for a couple of weeks and trying for a consular processing appointment in Canada. My H-1B visa is stamped and I can return back to the U.S. without issues. Can that be used for getting an emergency visa appointment?
Reference: "If your spouse is in US and you are getting visa to join them." (https://redbus2us.com/visas/usa/apply-india/emergency-us-visa-appointment/)


Once again, your guidance has been helpful and I'd be thankful if you could share your suggestions on our scenario to complete our landing process.

Why would any consulate give emergency appointment for the candidates that are already in US. They can only help with someone's situation to get back to their country, not to arrange for you to travel outside US. Why do you need visa when you are already in US.

Yes if your spouse is in US and you are in your home country(resident country) being stuck without visa then you can apply for emergency appointment with some reason such as family separation, kid separation etc.

Well, you are free to try for emergency appointment.

Issues:
People in other threads say that they are waiting for months for visa appointment and consulate is not approving around 50% of emergency requests. So there is a chance that you would be stuck in Canada waiting for appointment. So have a plan if you get stuck in Canada.
If you are not a PR in Canada then not sure how long it would take to get visitor visa.
AVR route wont work if one doesnt have valid approved I94.
Once one applies for visa abroad then avr cannot be used as the candidate needs to wait till visa is stamped.

 

[j9lad]

Why would any consulate give emergency appointment for the candidates that are already in US. They can only help with someone's situation to get back to their country, not to arrange for you to travel outside US. Why do you need visa when you are already in US.

Yes if your spouse is in US and you are in your home country(resident country) being stuck without visa then you can apply for emergency appointment with some reason such as family separation, kid separation etc.

Well, you are free to try for emergency appointment.

Issues:
People in other threads say that they are waiting for months for visa appointment and consulate is not approving around 50% of emergency requests. So there is a chance that you would be stuck in Canada waiting for appointment. So have a plan if you get stuck in Canada.
If you are not a PR in Canada then not sure how long it would take to get visitor visa.
AVR route wont work if one doesnt have valid approved I94.
Once one applies for visa abroad then avr cannot be used as the candidate needs to wait till visa is stamped.

There seems to be point that's being missed as to why we need a visa when we are already in the US - when we travel to Canada for our PR landing from the US, my spouse's H-4 application becomes void. With the student visa already expired, it would result in an invalid status to return to the US.
So, essentially, my spouse will not be able to get back to the US, although I can. We were wondering if that can deemed as a family separation situation to help us get back to the US after we complete our PR landing.

 

[harirajmohan]

There seems to be point that's being missed as to why we need a visa when we are already in the US - when we travel to Canada for our PR landing from the US, my spouse's H-4 application becomes void. With the student visa already expired, it would result in an invalid status to return to the US.
So, essentially, my spouse will not be able to get back to the US, although I can. We were wondering if that can deemed as a family separation situation to help us get back to the US after we complete our PR landing.

I know that h4 processing takes time nowadays. But consulate doesnt consider your personal abroad trip as a valid reason to accept emergency appointment is my view point.

I saw in some other thread that mexico appointment availability. Possibly you can try there(not sure about the requirements of visa for that country based on your passport).
Or try to move to Canada and try appointment or at your home/passport country.

 

[j9lad]

I know that h4 processing takes time nowadays. But consulate doesnt consider your personal abroad trip as a valid reason to accept emergency appointment is my view point.

I saw in some other thread that mexico appointment availability. Possibly you can try there(not sure about the requirements of visa for that country based on your passport).
Or try to move to Canada and try appointment or at your home/passport country.

Got it, thank you for your insight. We'll keep our home country (India) as an option to get the H-4 visa stamping.

 

[Akki9172]

Hello All

So I am planning to do a soft landing and coming back using AVR. My Question is does the I-94 attached can create any issues if I have a process going on for PERM here. My PERM is filed and it can take up to 6 months to approve but I have to do soft landing before Oct End. Can anybody tell me regarding that?

 

[j9lad]

@harirajmohan , thank you for previously sharing your insights. A few things have changed recently and wanted to seek your guidance.

My spouse's H-4 application is no longer pending and we received the official I-797 approval notice. Can this be used to travel back to the US using AVR? The I-797 has an attached section for I-94 and the expiry is sometime next year.

 

[harirajmohan]

@harirajmohan , thank you for previously sharing your insights. A few things have changed recently and wanted to seek your guidance.

My spouse's H-4 application is no longer pending and we received the official I-797 approval notice. Can this be used to travel back to the US using AVR? The I-797 has an attached section for I-94 and the expiry is sometime next year.

Yes of course you can travel as you have valid I94 extended by uscis. You should be all set. I assume all others in the family too have valid I94 for 3+ months.

 

[j9lad]

Yes of course you can travel as you have valid I94 extended by uscis. You should be all set. I assume all others in the family too have valid I94 for 3+ months.

That's great! Thank you for all the guidance. Yes, I have my H-1B visa stamping valid until next year.

It's a relief that we don't have to worry about the visa stamping and can travel back after completing the landing process!