H-4 EAD off the back of my H-1B?? Please help!!
 

Hello,

I am living in the US on a H-1B visa that is valid until September 2019. If my girlfriend and I were to get married and she got the H-4 visa, would she then be able to apply for an EAD to be able to work legally in the US? We were both born in the UK and are UK citizens.

She is self-employed and so will never be able to get a company-sponsored visa like I did... so we are trying to understand what other options are available to us! She is a piano teacher who teaches individual lessons (i.e. she is not a qualified classroom teacher).

Thanks,

Alex

Re: H-4 EAD off the back of my H-1B?? Please help!!
 

The H-4 EAD is only available/relevant if you have an approved I-140 (immigrant petition) but can't file for adjustment of status because your priority date isn't current. It's really only relevant for people born in China or India who have a multi year wait for their priority date to become current.

Re: H-4 EAD off the back of my H-1B?? Please help!!
 

Re: H-4 EAD off the back of my H-1B?? Please help!!
 

If I could convince my company to do a green card application, at what point in the process would she get work eligibility - only once I have the green card?

Re: H-4 EAD off the back of my H-1B?? Please help!!
 

She can apply for an EAD when you both submit your I-485 applications i.e. the application to adjust your status to permanent resident (and get the GC). It should take about 3 months for the EAD to arrive after application but people have been waiting 6 months or more at the moment.

However, to get to the point where you can submit the I-485, a lot needs to be done (such as proving that no US citizen can do your role) and you're looking at at least a year (best case) and more likely two (realistic) before you get to the point where she can apply for an EAD. Since your visa expires in 2019, you're cutting it very fine.

Also think *very* carefully about H4: I've been on one for 4.5 years and am ripping my hair out at this point.