H1B stamping - Got 221 g - withdrawing passport - Already having H4 visa

Hi,

My wife was in US on H4 visa. I got her H1b raised through a company and during her visa stamping at New Delhi, she got 221g. They didn’t ask for any additional documents to be submitted. Visa officer took all her documents including original petition, passport etc. It’s been a month now and the status still shows as ‘Administrative Processing’.

I am not sure how much time it will take though I got to know through different forums that it can take from weeks to several months. Hence, I am planning to bring her back to US and for that I need to withdraw her passport.

  1. If I withdraw her passport, does it have any impact on current H1B-Administrative-Processing?

  2. Also, it would not have any impact on her existing H4 visa, right? And she can still travel back to US on H4?

  3. In case, if her visa is approved later, does she need to go back to India for stamping or can I ask her employer to file for COS?

Please suggest on what should I do.

Your response is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

  1. You can ask for passport back. I am not sure if they will close the 221g case or keep it pending. You can explicitly mention in the withdrawal letter that you want the case to remain pending and want to have passport back for personal reasons.

  2. Usually they cancel H-4 visa only after approving H-1 visa. If H-1 is still under process, H-4 visa stamp shouldn’t be impacted. But there is no surety about it.

  3. You can have COS filed in US and not worry about what happens to that 221g case. However, next time she travels outside US and wants to return on stamped H-1 visa, she may again run into 221g issues.

Thanks for your response Saurabh. Should I also mention in the withdrawal letter that the passport is required so that the applicant (my wife) can travel back to US on H4 visa?
Or should I just mention that I need it back for personal reasons?

Please suggest. Thanks.

Mention that you need it back for personal reasons