Travel to US on tourist visa when H4 is in 221g Admin Processing

[sb1974 0]

Hi,

My H1b and my family's H4 applications are pending in 221g admin processing at Mumbai consulate since the last few weeks. I was thinking if there is any way for my family to go to the US while this is in progress. My child's schooling is at stake and we also have a lot of personal belongings to take care of there. Once my H1 application is approved, I can have them travel back to get their H4 visas stamped.

• Is it possible and advisable to apply for a tourist visa for them while their H4 is pending in 221g?
  
• If so, what would happen to their H4 application?
  
• Any issues that could happen at port of entry?
  

Can the experts in this forum please advise?

Thanks!

[aaron2020 11,651]

Hi,

Do you and your family have tourist visas? If not, then it's highly unlikely that you will get them at this point.

Tourists are not allowed to attend school.

Edited July 30, 2016 by aaron2020

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Tourists are not allowed to attend school. While visiting is a possibility (do you have tourist visas already) it is up to the CBP at the time of crossing.

Good luck

[Boiler 45,525]

The visa to study is a F1.

[jan22 3,056]

Hi,

My H1b and my family's H4 applications are pending in 221g admin processing at Mumbai consulate since the last few weeks. I was thinking if there is any way for my family to go to the US while this is in progress. My child's schooling is at stake and we also have a lot of personal belongings to take care of there. Once my H1 application is approved, I can have them travel back to get their H4 visas stamped.

• Is it possible and advisable to apply for a tourist visa for them while their H4 is pending in 221g?
• If so, what would happen to their H4 application?
• Any issues that could happen at port of entry?

Can the experts in this forum please advise?

Thanks!

There are so many things wrong with these questions that it's hard to know where to start.

The most important thing is that you must enter the US on a visa that is appropriate for your primary purpose of entering the country. You and your family's primary purpose is not tourism -- it's to iive and work. You need to wait for the right visas to be issued before you travel. Your children can study when on the H4; they cannot do so on a visitor's visa.

The way you phrased the question re applying for a visitor visa while the others are in 221g status implies you do not have the visitor visa. If you try to apply now, there is absolutely no chance they will be approved. It will be clear to the visa officer, who can see the record of your pending H's, that you are trying for the visitor visas in order to circumvent US visa law. If you do actually have visitor visas at the moment, you need to understand that the officers at the Port of Entry will also be able to see that you have H visas pending; the likely outcome is that you will be denied entry as a visitor and be sent back home.

I'm a little confused by your statement re "Once my H1 application is approved I can have them travel back...". I assume that your intent is to send your family to the US while you wait until you get the H1; I also assume this is a renewal (or you were already in the US as a student or on OPT), since you refer to the personal belongings you have there. Your family cannot go back to resume their lives in the US by pretending to be visitors when, clearly, they are not. You need to wait for the appropriate visas.

[sb1974 0]

There are so many things wrong with these questions that it's hard to know where to start.

The most important thing is that you must enter the US on a visa that is appropriate for your primary purpose of entering the country. You and your family's primary purpose is not tourism -- it's to iive and work. You need to wait for the right visas to be issued before you travel. Your children can study when on the H4; they cannot do so on a visitor's visa.

The way you phrased the question re applying for a visitor visa while the others are in 221g status implies you do not have the visitor visa. If you try to apply now, there is absolutely no chance they will be approved. It will be clear to the visa officer, who can see the record of your pending H's, that you are trying for the visitor visas in order to circumvent US visa law. If you do actually have visitor visas at the moment, you need to understand that the officers at the Port of Entry will also be able to see that you have H visas pending; the likely outcome is that you will be denied entry as a visitor and be sent back home.

I'm a little confused by your statement re "Once my H1 application is approved I can have them travel back...". I assume that your intent is to send your family to the US while you wait until you get the H1; I also assume this is a renewal (or you were already in the US as a student or on OPT), since you refer to the personal belongings you have there. Your family cannot go back to resume their lives in the US by pretending to be visitors when, clearly, they are not. You need to wait for the appropriate visas.

Thanks for your response.

You are right in your assumptions. We do not have a visitor visa now. The purpose of this question was to seek opinion if it was advisable for my family to apply and if approved, travel on that when their H4 is in admin processing. I assume it isn't possible even if they revoke their pending H4 applications first.

Yes, the intention was to send them (or at least my wife) while I wait to get the H1. This is a renewal and we had come outside on vacation.

[jan22 3,056]

I hope you understand now that there is no chance, even if there were some way to "revoke" the pending H4 applications, that your family would get visitor visas. It would be clear what your intent was -- sending them to live in the US as visitors -- which is contrary to US immigration law. They, like you, need to wait for the processing of the H visas. You will likely hear something soon.

Edited July 31, 2016 by jan22

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

IF you are fairly certain that you will be getting the H visas I would contact your intending school district and ask about what you can do to get your children started on the class work that they would be doing while they are there. You couild probably buy whatever text books used online and try through home schooling to work on he differences between the US school and the one where you are at.