Travelling to US on H4 while H1 is under process

Hi,
I have a query on my spouse Visa. Currently i am on H1 visa and my spouse is on H4(dependent Visa). I am in US , however my wife is in India currently.
My spouse is working in a different IT company and her company is filing the H1 visa for her this April. I have few questions here pertaining to her travel on h4.

  1. After her company applies her H1 petition and if she is selected in the lottery, can she travel to US on H4 visa(before her final h1 petition is approved) ? If she does that, will it affect her H1 visa processing ?

  2. While she is in US on h4 visa , if her H1 petition(from her employer), is approved, how long can she stay here on H4 visa ? Does she have to go back immediately after her H1 petition is approved ?

  3. If she has to work in US, does she have to go back to india and get the h1 petition stamped ? Can the stamping be taken care in US … rather can her H4 be converted to H1 being in US and without travelling back to India ?

Regards
Somnath

  1. Yes she may travel on H4. It will not have any effect on her H1 petition.

2)As long as she wants to stay on H4. No need to leave USA, she may apply a CHANGE OF STATUS application from H4 to H1 to USCIS, which once approved she may start working in USA.

  1. No, she need not go back to India. She may apply for CHANGE OF STATUS by residing inside USA, and USCIS needs to approve it, for her to start working on H1B. Until then, her H4 status will continue to hold good.