drspecialist

Dear Friends

Please I have an enquiry, I have applied for H1B visa for the USA this year and I have got the approval and have stamped the visa (17 November 2009) in my passport through the American Embassy in London -United Kingdom as I live there now. Please I have 2 enquiries for you and I will be grateful if you can help me:

1) I am doing a PhD now in the UK and I am in the last part of it (around 6-8 to finish), now I am worried about my H1B visa situation, I was thinking to visit the USA early next month, meet with my employer and activate the visa and then go back to the UK till I finish my PhD and then go back to the USA later for work (The H1B visa experies June 2012), I do not know if this is correct or not?
2) If I wait till I finish my PhD completely then go to the USA, there will be a delay in visa activation for around 8 months which I do not know if this will affect anything in the future.

Actually I am interested in applying for Green Card through through my employer coming year , and I do not want anything to affect my application or status.

N.B.: I have a multiple valid visitor visa till 2013 to the USA, so upon entry to the USA which visa I should use (The H1B visa or the Visitor visa?

Thanks very much and hope to hear from you soon

ian-mstm

Around 6-8 what? Months? Weeks?


In proper order... you'll travel to the US, validate the visa at the port of entry, and then meet with your employer.


I believe you need to validate your visa within 6 months of issue... so, by the middle of May/2010.


It doesn't appear that you'll have any problems with your plan, as long as your employer is willing to sponsor you for the GC.


You can enter the US in only *one* valid status at a time. If you enter on the B-2 visitor visa, you can not work. If you enter on the H-1B visa, you can work. Once you validate the visa, you are allowed to live/work in the US to the expiry date on the I-94 which you will receive when you enter the US.

Ian

drspecialist

Thanks Ian for your nice and detailed reply
Actually I have around 6-8 months to finish my PhD in the UK. The concerns about the green card application, that one of my friends told me that they usually look at your tax payments..etc.. When they will look at my tax history, they will find that I have activated the H1B visa but during the 1st year time I did not pay any tax and this is normal becuase I did not work and I have not earned anymoney, so this is my enquiry.
Thanks again

ian-mstm

Even on an H-1B visa, if you do not have sufficient taxable income, you aren't required to file a tax return or pay income tax. So, no worries there.

Ian

Marocco

Is it possible for him to 'activate' his visa even if he won't be working for his employer until he finishes his PhD?

Rete

That should not be an issue. Next month is December. It would not be unusual for you not to have earned income for the last week or two of the fiscal year for tax purposes.

scrubbedexpat099

And your employer will wait that long?