newacct

She can either: 1) leave the US and re-enter with your H1b petition approval, I-94, and marriage certificate, to be admitted into H4 status, or 2) she can file I-539 for Change of Status to H4 status without leaving, which costs $455 and takes many months.

No. You were born in India so you are chargeable to India. Your parents were residing in India so you cannot claim a parent's nationality as country of chargeability (which would be India anyway).

1 year

No final rule has been published.

Your "continuous residence" is interrupted, and it has to start over counting again.

Once you changed status, you were no longer exempt from FICA, but you were still exempt from FICA for the period of time before the Change of Status happened.

Yes, it's a good idea to file I-131 for AP and I-765 for EAD together with your I-485 filing.

As long as you filed it before the 2 year card expired, you are in status. You can work, and you do not need to notify employer.

It should be fine. India is in the "6-month club" whose passports are accepted by the US up to the date of expiry. He period of admission will be limited to Sep 25.

You are renewing your previous C09 EAD, right? Yes, your work authorization is automatically extended until 180 days after your EAD expired.

Are you doing Consular Processing abroad or Adjustment of Status in the US?

No, this type of assistance is not considered under proposed rules regarding public charge inadmissibility.

1. If you have both an H1b visa and AP, then it's better to enter on H1b visa, which puts you in H1b status, rather than with AP, which puts you in no status. In case your I-485 is denied, you can stay if you have status, but will have to go if you don't. There is no downside to having status compared to not having status; if you are on H1b status you still have the choice to give up H1b status and work on EAD later if you want. 2. If you are paroled, you will not be in H1b status, but according to the Cronin memo you can continue your H1b employment authorization that you have before you left without needing an EAD. You can also use an EAD if you like.

Your spouse can file I-130 to petition you at any time, but you will not be able to actually get the immigrant visa until your 2-year home residency rule is satisfied or waived. (Also note that if you married before your spouse got their green card you may be able to immigrate as a derivative beneficiary without being petitioned.) You shouldn't have been able to get H1b status if you haven't satisfied or waived your 2-year home residency requirement. Also note that any time you spend in the US (or any other country besides your home country) will obviously not count towards the cumulative 2 years you need to be present in your home country.

This has nothing to do with brackets. You were a nonresident alien for all of 2018, because you didn't pass the Substantial Presence Test for 2018 (you were an "exempt individual" (days of presence exempt from the SPT) during your days in F1 status in 2018, because you have not been an exempt individual for some part of 5 previous calendar years; your days in H1b status are counted in the SPT, but they are not enough to pass the SPT for 2018). According to this, nonresident aliens in F1 status are exempt from FICA taxes when working on campus or on practical training. Nonresident aliens in H1b status are not exempt from FICA taxes.