Home » Visas » USA » H4 Visa » Samples » Sample H4 Visa Extension Approval Notice by USCIS – I797C Courtesy Copy

Sample H4 Visa Extension Approval Notice by USCIS – I797C Courtesy Copy

When you apply for H4 Visa extension to extend your stay in US or applying for Change of Status (COS) to H-4 Visa, you file form I-539 with USCIS.  As they process your H4 application package, first you will get a H4 Case Receipt Notice and after that you will also get a H4 Biometrics Appointment notice . After you complete giving Biometrics, ASC will put a stamp indicating the completion. After this process is done, USCIS will adjudicate your petition and finally approve your H4 Application. USCIS mails out two kinds of notices, depending on if you have used an attorney to submit the H4 petition.

In this page, we will look at the I-797C, which is notice of Action that is not the formal approval notice.

Sample H4 Visa Extension / Change Approval Notice I-797C, Courtesy Copy from USCIS

Below is a sample H4 Visa Extension Approval Notice, I-797C Notice of Action, which is the courtesy copy.  The official H4 Approval notice will be sent to the mailing address that was chosen on the Form G-28, which is filed by immigration attorney.  All the details of various fields and what they mean are explained below as well.

Sample H4 Visa Extension Approval Notice by USCIS I797C Form

  • Receipt Number :  This is the actual H4 extension or change of status (COS) receipt number, that your application is tied it. It would be same as the number in the receipt notice.
  • Case Type : This indicates the type of application and form that the Approval notice is tied to. In the context of H4 Extension or Change of Status, it should be “I-539, APPLICATION TO EXTEND / CHANGE NONIMMIGRANT STATUS”
  • Received Date : This is the date when USCIS actually received your H4 application package. Usually, this is the date when they signed and received your package from mail and official date of receipt of your application package.
  • Notice Date : This is the date when the H4 Approval Notice was generated by USCIS system
  • Priority Date : This will be usually blank for H4 applications.
  • Applicant :  This will be the name of the actual H4 Applicant, who filed the extension or change of status. You need to ensure the spelling and everything is correct here.
  • Beneficiary : This field will also have the H4 applicant name
  • Page : if the receipt notice is more than page, you will see 1 of 2 on first page. In H4 receipt context, it will be 1 of 1 as the receipt notice is only one page.
  • Name and Mailing Address : Below these fields, you will see a box with Name and address of the applicant
  • Notice Type : It will say “Approval Notice”. It will be same on the official copy and the courtesy notice.
  • Class : It will say “H4”, as the approval notice is for H4 visa.
  • Valid From and To : This will be the dates that H4 visa is valid for the applicant. It will usually be same as the H1B approval start and end date.
  • Text on Mailing of Official Notice :  You will see text under these details that will say “We have mailed an official notice about this case(and any relevant documentation according to the mailing preferences you chose on Form G-28 …”. The text basically tells that the official approval notice is sent to the attorney and the notice you got is only the Courtesy copy.
  • Applicants, Name :  Below the text there will be Applicants heading with Name on it that corresponds to the H4 applicant.
  • DOB : It will have the Date of Birth of the H4 applicant.
  • COB : It will be the country of Birth for the H4 holder
  • Class : This will be H4 as the form is for H4 visa holders.
  • USCIS Office Address, Customer Service Number : You will see the office address that has processed your H4 application and details of bar code.

   

Other Articles

13 Comments

  1. My attorney says, as per the some standard procedure they will not mail me original approval notice for H4 EAD I765 approval, as we will already get original ead card.

    Is this a usual practice by attorneys or I am supposed to get original notice also?

    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
  2. Hello,
    I received the I797c courtesy copy Approval notice for h4 visa . But I did not receive the official approval notice which has I94 . What should I do further ?

    Reply
  3. I received the I 797C, notice of action for my dependent. How long it takes to receive the I-797A to reach us? Also I-797A will be delivered to the same address of I-797C?

    Reply
  4. I have received I-797C. I want to apply for H4 EAD. What are my next steps? Do I have to wait for biometrics or should I be applying EAD based on this form?

    Reply
  5. Even though our check were cashed, and primary H1B was approved and extended, we did not receive a receipt from USCIS for our H4 application we filed in March 2020. We have written to lockbox but no response. Could you please suggest what else can be done

    Reply
    • Bharat,
      Try to call them again and talk to an agent. Raise a service request or try to reach out congressman. Did you see the copy of check, there must be a number on the back, can you verify that case status ? Keep trying all avenues.

      Reply
    • Hi Bharat,
      Did you issue resolve? I had similar issue wit my spouse H4. Please let me know if you have any solution or suggestion. Thanks

      Reply

Leave a Comment