H1B and AOS

[superburger 0]

Situation is this -

2009 was engaged to US citizen - flying back and forth to be with her, etc. Original plan was for us to marry in USA then for *her* to move to the UK.

Late 2010 offered job w/ H1B status in USA. Accepted. Was not expecting this- but a good opportunity presented itself

Jan 2011 married - returned to UK.

End Jan 2011 - received H1B visa - was honest with embassy about being married to USC, etc.

Feb 2011 - moved to USA and started job with H1B status. Entered USA as H1B, etc.

Oct 2011 Submitted I-130 / I-485 and associated paperwork (medical, etc) and was received in Chicago yesterday.

Questions are this

Is there any reason why my I-130/1485, etc will not be approved? AFAIK my H1B status is independent of anything else, and as long as I stay at the same employer then my status remains H1B.

USCIS have my current I-94, but we are planning a short trip to the UK over Xmas, so clearly I will receive a new I-94. Will the affect my application?

Will leaving the USA for a week, returning with H1B status intact cause any sort of trouble?

Thanks in advance for help!

[NinjaLadyBug 23]

Hi Superburger,

No H1-B are dual intent visas so it means you can/may have the intent to BOTH stay permentantly if approved or leave when your H1 expires. Your status also means that you can travel on your H1B, as long as your visa stamp is valid, with no problems. You just have to make sure that you remain employed and your H1 status does not lapse while you are out of the country.. You did the right thing by being honest about your maritial status because that should also not be a problem for your particular status anyways.

Your H1 status remains active till you are either approved (you AOS to PR) or till you use your EAD card, so remember that once you receive it, if you forward it to your employer, you have terminated your H1B status and replaced it with your EAD card with a different set of rules and new expiration. If you use your EAD, your travel restrictions will also change!

If your AOS is not approved, the reason it was not approved will determine whether your H1B or any other legal status is terminated. If you are not approved due to missing/incomplete medical etc - then that would be a denial/rejection without prejudice. You can therefore continue on with your H1B. If however you are not approved due to misrepresentation or fraud, your H1B may be revoked.

Bottom line - your H1B allows you to travel while AOSing with no issues and does not conflict with the process.

Hope this helps!

[superburger 0]

Hi Superburger,

No H1-B are dual intent visas so it means you can/may have the intent to BOTH stay permentantly if approved or leave when your H1 expires. Your status also means that you can travel on your H1B, as long as your visa stamp is valid, with no problems. You just have to make sure that you remain employed and your H1 status does not lapse while you are out of the country.. You did the right thing by being honest about your maritial status because that should also not be a problem for your particular status anyways.

Your H1 status remains active till you are either approved (you AOS to PR) or till you use your EAD card, so remember that once you receive it, if you forward it to your employer, you have terminated your H1B status and replaced it with your EAD card with a different set of rules and new expiration. If you use your EAD, your travel restrictions will also change!

If your AOS is not approved, the reason it was not approved will determine whether your H1B or any other legal status is terminated. If you are not approved due to missing/incomplete medical etc - then that would be a denial/rejection without prejudice. You can therefore continue on with your H1B. If however you are not approved due to misrepresentation or fraud, your H1B may be revoked.

Bottom line - your H1B allows you to travel while AOSing with no issues and does not conflict with the process.

Hope this helps!

Great.

No intention of leaving my job for the time being, but have applied for EAD as a safety-net in case something happens with my H1B job. If I do start to use EAD it'll only because I get a new job in the next year or so w/out H1B sponsorship.

I haven't lied or misrepresented my marriage status or immigration intentions to any US official, so hopefully no hold-ups there.

Guess I have to sit back and wait, wait, wait for the Green Card process to reach a conclusion.

Thanks for your help.