My spouse is currently working on F-1 OPT or H-1 status. How can he/she change to H-4 status and obtain H-4 EAD without a gap in the ability to work?
We have received several requests about how to ensure there are no gaps in a spouse’s ability to work when converting from another work status (such as H-1) to H-4 EAD.
The short answer, as of now (November 2016) is that here is no way to guarantee that there will not be any gap in a spouse’s ability to work. The problems arise from the fact that there can be a gap between change of status to H-4 and receipt of EAD. The law requires that EAD must be approved and the EAD card must be in hand for the H4 holder to work.
I am a US citizen who Sponsored my fathers green card in 2010. His green card is expiring oct 2020. He had to stay in India since Jan 2019 due to health conditions. With the Covid pandemic situation and his age (81) and health conditions, he is not able to travel back to the united States before the green card expiry. My father does not have any family in India to take care of him and will have to come here so that my brother and I can take care of him. What are our options for avoiding the expiry of the green card? Secondly, is there a 60 day extension on the expiry date due to Covid 19?
Video Transcript
You should try to get in touch with the consulate and send them emails, etc., asking them their guidance and that way you have at least some proof that you are trying to get back into the USA on time, but if it goes past one year it can't be helped, you can always start a new green card if you like, not too many options here. FAQ in detail...
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.
Note: For governmental Requests For Evidence (RFEs), we charge extra based upon the complexity of the issue(s).
Got GC in 18months (RIR Labor application to 485 approval). Rajiv Khanna (RK) helped me out of a mess that I thought was impossible to solve. He helped out an unknown emailer, spent hours analyzing the situation over the phone and devised a game-plan. Guess what, without signing a retainer or expecting compensation. I still remember when I called other “big lawyer” for help, first thing her office wanted was my credit card.
Story began in summer of 2003. When I found out that my earlier lawyer had screwed up the whole 140/485 application and was eventually denied, loss of 4years of waiting. I then emailed RK for help. He patiently heard the story and advised that I should redo the whole application from point A. Even though dread of going through whole labor application all over again was overwhelming, RK was absolutely correct that earlier labor was approved under incorrect language, mistakes many inexperienced lawyers make.
Best thing is that he sticks by the books, remains honest about the situation and never promises miracles. Apart from RK’s excellent competency and vast experience, he has excellent well-trained support team. That really makes a huge difference because game-plan is one thing, while organizational support & efficient execution is other.