Need Help : Queries/Questions for travelling and reentering US

[sobbysoprana]

I came to US on h4 in March 2013 . Later applied for H1b by an employer and got it approved in Oct 2014 . Since i was pregnant i could not work and applied for COS from H1 to H4 in Nov 2014 . My employer revoked the H1-B VISA in Jan 2015 . 

Current Scenario : The H1 to H4 is still pending and my husband is changing the employer and has petition approved via Councellor processing (till 2018) . Our(me/husband) Visa and I94 is expiring till Sept 2015 . 

1.Since my husbands petition is approved by councellor processing . Will it be Ok to travel to Mexico in July 2015 and re-enter US with new petition for me and husband (because VISA is in name of previous employer) ? Will i or my husband face any challenges while reentering ?

2.Is it ok to withdraw my petition ( H1 to H4 ) before my travel ? 

3.Do me or my husband need to stamp the VISA before reentering US ? 

Thanks.

[hmaster]

In your "Current Scenario" assuming you both are currently in the US, why has your husbands new petition been approved for counsellor processing? Was it due to choice, or being out of status? 

 

1. If your and your husbands visas are still valid AND your husband has a valid H1 petition, there shouldn't be an issue unless your husband was out of status just prior to exit. The POE shouldn't ask for your (own) petition because you have exited the country and are reentering. Your prior COS in the US, although unresolved shouldn't matter. 

 

2. I see no reason why you should withdraw? this was just a COS for staying in the US. Once you exit, you abandon any pending COS anyways, meaning you start fresh. One thing I am not clear on is, when your husband applied with a new employer, why didn't you apply as a dependent on this petition along with him? Could you not have applied when your prior COS was pending?

 

3. Not if both your current VISA are still valid (dates). Except, if there has been an out of status period for your husband. Technically you are out of status if not paid on H1 and VISA becomes automatically void, but in practice at POE they just check your valid visa and your new petition. If at all they ask for pay stubs and determine that your husband has been OOS, they will ask you to get a new visa stamp (rare in practice). If your visas aren't valid you can go the AVR route if you are just doing a short (<30) trip to CAN/Mexico, but AVRs are always risky, the officers could ask you a lot of questions and there could be some other problem that they may discover.