Adjusting status on H1B visa- travel before or after apply for AOS?

[katgrl 14]

Hello all,

Hope someone can help with this please. My friend is on an H1B visa. She is planning to get married next weekend. Her and her husband are then planning to travel to her home country a few weeks after that. She was told to apply for her adjustment of status after she returns because once she applies for AOS. I know that once she applies, that makes her H1B "invalid." (Can't think of the correct word.) But, I want to make sure she can still travel before applying for AOS even if she is married since she is on a valid visa? If she is questioned if she is married and she responds yes, can that prevent her from re-entering? Thanks!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

H visas are dual intent so she can travel all she wants. The H visa will stay valid until AOS is approved. This is unique for H visas (and one other one, I think L).

[Tempo House 6]

I have been married to a U.S. citizen for over two years and while I am currently in AOS, for most of that two-year period I was here on my still-valid L1 visa. I have travelled abroad both with and without my wife with no problem upon return to the U.S. I've even renewed my L1 visa in London and declared my marriage to a U.S. citizen on the forms, and I wasn't even asked why I wasn't filing for AOS. So I am confident your friend can travel on the H1.

I was told by an immigration lawyer that after filing AOS, you can still travel on your valid H1 or L1 visa and your AOS is irrelevant. I haven't tested this since I haven't been outside the U.S. since filing AOS, but I would be confident doing it. I expect that if you did, it would be a good idea to carry your Advance Parole documentation if you have it, and probably also to be prepared to explain that you are both in-status on your work visa and also applying for AOS, simply because you don't want to be hiding anything from the USCIS at border controls.

Marriage does not make the other visa invalid. Remember that for most intending immigrants, marriage takes some work to prove and the USCIS only recognizes it as grounds for immigration when you've proven that it's a marriage that was entered into, and that continues, for valid reasons.

[Dakine10 5,452]

As has been posted already, she can travel with the H1B visa since it allows dual intent. It also does not matter if if the AOS paperwork is filed before or after for the same reason.

It is advisable (but not necessary) to apply for advance parole(AP). The reason for this is that without AP, if the H1B employment is terminated unexpectedly while she is out of the country the AOS would also be abandoned. If she is relatively sure that this will not happen then it is safe to travel without AP.

[katgrl 14]

Thanks everyone for your answers. I did not know that about the H1B visa being dual intent, although it makes sense. The only thing is that she will likely not have her AP by the time she is to travel. I will let her know what y'all said, though.

[Tempo House 6]

As has been posted already, she can travel with the H1B visa since it allows dual intent. It also does not matter if if the AOS paperwork is filed before or after for the same reason.

It is advisable (but not necessary) to apply for advance parole(AP). The reason for this is that without AP, if the H1B employment is terminated unexpectedly while she is out of the country the AOS would also be abandoned. If she is relatively sure that this will not happen then it is safe to travel without AP.

That's an excellent point. And to cover another case: if your employment is unexpectedly terminated while outside the U.S., and you have NOT filed for AOS, your troubles are still significant because you can't validly return on your employment visa. It almost happened to me, when a redundancy round at my company happened while I was outside the U.S.