H4 EAD can be applied from Out of USA?

[prasar]

Hi All,

Can anyone suggest me whether H4 EAD can be applied by H1 person (140-Approved) behalf of Spouse or H4 person should be present in USA?

[JoeF]

The spouse has to be in the US in H4 status.

[xTDx]

If someone is not in US then they have no status i.e your spouse is not in H4 status and hence not eligible for h4-ead. Your spouse can come to US under H4 and then can apply for h4-ead and can travel back if very urgent.

Moreover h4-ead is a personal application and your spouse would have to sign it. Your spouse can make you an accredited representative by filing form g-28 but they would still have to sign g-28 and h4-ead application.

[shekar11#]

On 6/12/2019 at 1:37 PM, prasar said:

Hi All,

Can anyone suggest me whether H4 EAD can be applied by H1 person (140-Approved) behalf of Spouse or H4 person should be present in USA?

Your spouse needs to be in US to apply for H-4 EAD.

[Saurabhsrv]

Hi All,

Please help me with my below case for applying H4-EAD for my wife. 

Case -    My I-140 just got approved and I want to apply H4-EAD for my wife.

She has a valid H4 Visa stamp on her passport till March 2020 but did not travel to US on that visa still, so there is no valid I-94 for her as of now.

 

Ques 1: Does she need to physically come to USA before her H4-EAD can be filed? 

               I believe the answer for this question as per this forum is YES.

 Ques 2: If yes, Is there a time limit till when she has to be present in USA after the H4-EAD application is filed or can she travel back to India immediately after filing (for some of her urgent commitments) and wait for EAD approval? Will there be any negative impact on her application if she returns to India?

As per USCIS website guidelines, “You may travel if you are in valid H-4 status and meet all the admission requirements, including having a valid H-4 nonimmigrant visa.”

 

Ques 3: If she returns back to India, will her H-4 status be lost even when her H4 Visa stamp would be valid till March 2020?

What is exactly meant by valid H-4 status? Does it accrue only when an H4 Dependent is in United States or H-4 Status is still valid when a dependent is out of US but the principal H-1B beneficiary maintains the status?

 

Ques 4: If there is an RFE on her H-4 status during her EAD application processing, what would be the course of action to respond to that RFE ? Does she need to come back again or can I (being in USA still) reply with the needed documents (what are those??) to prove her H-4 status ?

Appreciate your responses.

Thanks,

Saurabh

[shekar11#]

On 6/16/2019 at 10:14 PM, Saurabhsrv said:

Hi All,

Please help me with my below case for applying H4-EAD for my wife. 

Case -    My I-140 just got approved and I want to apply H4-EAD for my wife.

She has a valid H4 Visa stamp on her passport till March 2020 but did not travel to US on that visa still, so there is no valid I-94 for her as of now.

 

Ques 1: Does she need to physically come to USA before her H4-EAD can be filed? 

               I believe the answer for this question as per this forum is YES.

 Ques 2: If yes, Is there a time limit till when she has to be present in USA after the H4-EAD application is filed or can she travel back to India immediately after filing (for some of her urgent commitments) and wait for EAD approval? Will there be any negative impact on her application if she returns to India?

No time limit

Quote

As per USCIS website guidelines, “You may travel if you are in valid H-4 status and meet all the admission requirements, including having a valid H-4 nonimmigrant visa.”

 

Ques 3: If she returns back to India, will her H-4 status be lost even when her H4 Visa stamp would be valid till March 2020?

What is exactly meant by valid H-4 status? Does it accrue only when an H4 Dependent is in United States or H-4 Status is still valid when a dependent is out of US but the principal H-1B beneficiary maintains the status?

Yes, there is no status for your spouse if she is not in US.

Quote

 

Ques 4: If there is an RFE on her H-4 status during her EAD application processing, what would be the course of action to respond to that RFE ? Does she need to come back again or can I (being in USA still) reply with the needed documents (what are those??) to prove her H-4 status ?

If she is not present in the country during the process of RFE, they might sent you a NOID (Notice of intent to Deny) stating that the applicant is not in the country.

Quote

Appreciate your responses.

Thanks,

Saurabh

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by shekar11#