H4 - I539 Processing while travelling to India

[chenna]

Hi,

My company is filing for H1B extension & they want to file I 539 extension for my wife(H4 visa) also but my wife is travelling to India at end of this month.

Can my company file I 539 for my wife while she is travelling ? Her I 94 expires in March 2019. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

[amruthaa]

As far as I know, COS will be considered abandoned by USCIS if the petitioner travels outside of US while the application is pending. So, I would suggest:

1) postponing travel plans until after COS is approved.

2) leaving US before I94 expires and attending a consular interview abroad to obtain a visa once your extension is approved.

[newacct]

7 hours ago, amruthaa said:

As far as I know, COS will be considered abandoned by USCIS if the petitioner travels outside of US while the application is pending. So, I would suggest:

1) postponing travel plans until after COS is approved.

2) leaving US before I94 expires and attending a consular interview abroad to obtain a visa once your extension is approved.

There is no point to do COS or EOS if one is going to leave the US. You don't have "status" outside the US, so once you leave the US, you cease to have any status, including any status that was changed or extended; and you will need to have a visa to re-enter anyway.