EB1, EAD/Advance Parole

[drnishu]

Dear friends,

 

In June 2016, I got approval for I 140 under EB1 category. Already applied for adjustment of status, received EAD/AP combo card valid till 09/2017. I am principle beneficiary and my wife is secondary beneficiary. Also in July, we received another three years on H1/H4 extension as for applicants born in India and China, PD under EB1 category were not current for one month. 

 

We are traveling to home country. We are going for visa stamping to maintain NIV, both H1 and H4. 

 

I have following questions:

1. Once we come back on H1/H4, do we still considered to have valid EAD/AP, if something goes wrong?

2. Once my spouse enters on H4, can she use EAD to work? Remember, she does NOT have H4 EAD but EAD based on my pending I 485. My attorney says "No" but does not make any sense to me. 

3. Is it necessary to go for visa stamping for H1b/H4 since we have EAD/AP? I know, its very vague question. 

4. If we enter US on EAD/AP (do not go for H1/H4 stamping), can I continue to work on H1 based on recently approved I 797?

 

Thank you. 

 

[pontevecchio]

You have EB1 approval. The dates are current now. You should be getting the GC in weeks rather than months. I would suggest forgetting H1 and using AP for travel and EAD for work.

[drnishu]

Thank you pontevecchio. Our attorney strongly recommends to maintain NIV till I 485 approval but the point I don't understand yet is the fate of EAD/AP once we come back after getting H1/H4 stamping and entering US on H1/H4 visa rather than EAD/AP.  If we enter on H1/H4, would EAD/AP considered invalid meaning we would not be able to use it for work, if needed? 

[drnishu]

On 11/6/2016 at 9:19 AM, pontevecchio said:

You have EB1 approval. The dates are current now. You should be getting the GC in weeks rather than months. I would suggest forgetting H1 and using AP for travel and EAD for work.

 thank you. The average time for I 485 approval is 6 to 9 months that too if no RFE. I have discrepancy in my date of birth which I came to know when we requested birth certificate for I 485! Now this is somewhat common but its a recipe for sure RFE.  I am working on this to have correct date of birth in my passport but it seems near impossible the way Indian governmental system works! 

[pontevecchio]

Yes. You can return in H1/H4 status and the EAD/AP remains valid for use. Assuming the certificate worked for the I-140, there may not be an RFE. In any case the lawyer must have suggested ancillary evidence to rectify the problem. It will not take 9 months. But let us know in this thread when the GC arrives.

[drnishu]

Thank you. Sure, I will update when GC arrives. 

[drnishu]

As I promised, I am writing this post to update on our immigration statuses. 

Our I 485 got approved and we received green cards fairly quickly within one week of I 485 approval! As discussed above, we travelled while our I 485 petitions were pending after receiving EAD/AP. We reentered US (February 5) using valid H1/H4 visa and very next day (February 6), we got status update regarding approval of I 485. When we reentered, the IO at the POE gave us both options for reentry, H1/H4 vs AP and we firmly requested for H1/H4 to reenter. 

There was no issue regarding discrepancy in date of birth as I did not receive any RFE. My GC mentioned my actual DOB mentioned in the birth certificate while passport has different DOB. Just a simple signed letter in the white paper was enough for USCIS explaining this discrepancy. For the past 8 months or so I am fighting a battle in Indian high court to issue order so I can change DOB in my passport as I may be questioned at the POE in future regarding this discrepancy. 

Our overall journey to GC was somewhat stressful but we knew, we would be successful as we had strong credentials, never ever done anything wrong (other than this DOB discrepancy which was not intentional), never violated our statuses for even single day. We never felt scared to travel outside and we travelled multiple times on H1/H4 without any issues.