JoeF

Are you getting paid on bench? If the employer lays you off the H1 extension is gone. The employer by law has to inform USCIS when you no longer work there. Since your I-94 is expired you have to leave the country. Any new H1 would only be approved with consular notification.

Correct.

They will eventually find out and could even retroactively fix it. If you stay longer than the real time left you could end up being illegal for that overstay and subsequent petitions, e.g. for a GC, could also be affected.

Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands are part of the US. It is domestic travel. No visa needed, hence the travel ban doesn't apply. You need to carry your I-94 with you. That's it.

A person can travel with an existing, valid visa. That's what the part you mention is about. it is about "suspension and limitation of entry", it doesn't say anything about getting a new visa. Once the person's valid visa expires the person can not get a new H1 visa, and can therefore not travel to the US.

The I-94 is what matters. Why was it less than the end date on the I-797? Was that an extension. If you don't have a valid I-94 you don't have any grace period.

No. She has to be in the US to file the EAD.

They can use their existing valid visas with a copy of your new H1 approval notice.

A visa stamp is an entry document. Since Key West is part of Florida, it is within the US, so no visa stamp required. In the US, the I-94 is what matters. It shows the status. There is a requirement to carry the I-94 with you all the time.

Yes. That is what I did way back when I had to leave the US because my H1 ran out and the GC wasn't approved yet. Essentially, how this works is that the person writes invoices with the hours worked, and the company (the former employer) pays the invoices. They issue a 1099 for next year's taxes. Local taxes, health insurance, etc. are the responsibility of the person owning the one-person company. That needs to be reflected in the hourly rate charged on the invoices. The person needs to negotiate the rate with the former employer. Pro tip: I came back to the US after a couple months with the GC, and before the end of the year I roughly estimated my US tax payments. That was substantial. So I (i.e., my company) invested in a top-of-the-line laptop to lower my tax burden. Better to pay for a nice computer than paying taxes...

This whole COVID-19 thing will go on likely until next year. Lots of universities will likely do online studies lonely. ICE just came out with a statement that prevents people on F1 to do online-only studies. Based on that it is best to stay on H4. You can do online studies on H4.

Stay away from shady employers, in particular desi consulting companies. Do your due diligence. You should have done that from the start.

You can file an I-130 for her, but the PD is over 12 years back. It doesn't affect her H4 or H4 EAD, but if she loss that there is no way to stay based on the I-130.

The ban applies to you. You have an approved petition, but no visa. They don't issue new visas.

The grace period starts from the day of layoff. Severance does not matter for that.