H1B to H4 to H1B

[worriedson]

Hello all,

 

My wife and I are both on H1B visas living in different cities. We are both trying to find a job near each other but it has been difficult while continuing our current jobs. We are thinking about one of us taking a break and moving on to H4 visa. This would give that person some time to find a new opportunity.

 

But we are not sure how easy it is to change back to H1B visa again once you find a job. I understand we would be cap exempt but for how long is that valid? She has 1 year and I have 2 years left on our first 3 years of H1B. How much time does it take for this COS? Can anyone gone through the same share their experience?

 

Thank you.

[jairichi]

Your spouse will be cap exempt till she completes 6 years on H1B. It takes 4 to 5 months to get approval by regular processing.

[jeevi]

Hi All,

 

I have the same situation of working in different cities. Can some one share past experiences of using I-539 for status change ?

Is it good to go with attorney or file individually ? I have read there are different forms of application like paper based and online,

what is difference between these two forms and which one is better ?

 

I have read in different forums that COS takes lot of time, some cases even 10 months for approval. 

 

Thank you!