What is the H-1B prevailing wage and how is it determined?

The prevailing wage is the minimum salary an employer must offer an H-1B worker, determined by the Department of Labor based on the job title, duties, location, and experience level required. Wage levels range from Level 1 (entry) to Level 4 (expert).Offering a salary below the prevailing wage will result in the LCA being denied.

Can you have both an H-1B and O-1 petition pending at the same time?

Yes. The two work visas are separate categories, so you can file for both in parallel. The O-1 petition doesn't affect H-1B lottery selection or H-1B status, and the H-1B doesn't affect the O-1 adjudication.Some candidates run both tracks simultaneously to hedge against a lottery loss.

How long does H-4 EAD processing take in 2026?

H-4 EAD processing time varies by case and by how you file, and USCIS doesn't publish a single fixed number. The most accurate estimate is the live figure USCIS posts for Form I-765 under the H-4 category, which changes month to month.Filing a standalone renewal while your H-4 status is valid is often faster than a concurrent filing.

What are the H-4 visas requirements for children?

A child qualifies as an H-4 dependent only while unmarried and under 21.Once a child turns 21 or marries, they age out of H-4 eligibility and need a different status to remain in the United States.

Does time in L-1 status count toward the H-1B six-year limit?

Yes. Under 8 CFR 214.2(h)(13)(iii)(A), the six years run on time spent in the United States in H or L classification combined. L-1 time therefore reduces what is left on the H-1B, and the same combination applies to the L maximums of five years for L-1B and seven for L-1A.

H-4 visa status - who qualifies and what it allows

An H-4 visa is the status held by the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of someone in H-1B, H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, or H-3 status. It does not, by itself, authorize anyone to work. Whether an H-4 spouse can get a work permit has its own detailed answer. H-4 EAD processing time and H-1B spouse work permit explained cover the eligibility rules and the current timeline in full. To compare across dependent categories instead, including H-4, L-2, and E-2, check the visa options for spouse work authorization. This post stays on H-4 status itself: who qualifies, what it allows without an EAD, how long it runs, and what ends it.

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What is H-4 visa status, and who qualifies

So, what is a H-4 visa, exactly? Under 8 CFR 214.2(h), it is a derivative status. It goes to the spouse and unmarried children under 21 of a principal admitted in one of five H categories. Those five are H-1B specialty occupation, H-1B1 under the Chile and Singapore trade agreements, H-2A agricultural work, H-2B temporary non-agricultural work, and H-3 training. The regulation calls these dependents H-4 nonimmigrants. It admits them for the same period as the principal spouse or parent. People often search this as an H4 dependant visa or an H-4 dependent visa, and both describe the same status. An H4 dependant visa and an H-4 visa are the same classification; the spelling just varies by source. H-1B is the fact pattern behind most H-4 questions, since it covers the largest share of H-4 holders. The mechanics work the same way across all five categories. A child ages out of H-4 eligibility at 21, the same cutoff used across most derivative immigration categories. One intent question comes up often: does H-4 status carry dual intent, the same way H-1B does? That assurance is specific to the H-1B category among the five that can generate H-4 status. The H-1B principal's own dual intent is confirmed directly in the regulation. It states that pursuing a green card is not a reason to deny an H-1B petition, extension, or admission. H-1B1, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 principals do not have that same confirmed dual intent, since each of those categories requires the principal to maintain nonimmigrant intent. An H-4 dependent of one of those four categories does not inherit a dual-intent assurance that the principal's own status does not have. Because H-4 status is purely derivative of that principal's status, the same practical result follows for the H-4 holder of an H-1B principal. No rule names H-4 dual intent on its own. This post describes it as a consequence of the principal's status rather than an independent H-4 provision.

What H-4 visa status lets you do without an EAD

H-4 status on its own covers more ground than most people expect. Each item below follows from holding valid status and a current Form I-94, not from any separate work permit. Full-time study is open at any level. An H-4 holder can enroll in a university program, a community college, or a K-12 school without filing anything extra with USCIS. School enrollment is a matter between the student and the institution. A driver's license is available at the state level. An H-4 holder needs to show valid status and an unexpired I-94, the same documents a DMV asks of any nonimmigrant. Exact requirements vary by state, but H-4 status itself is not the obstacle. A bank account is available too. Most banks ask for a government ID and a taxpayer number to open one. An H-4 holder without an EAD does not qualify for a Social Security number, so an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number serves that role instead. The IRS confirms a dependent or spouse of a nonimmigrant visa holder can apply for an ITIN "regardless of immigration status." Travel is available too, either with the principal or independently, as long as the H-4 holder's own documents are current. The next section below covers what that requires at the border.

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What H-4 visa status does not let you do

Work. That is the one thing H-4 status never covers by itself. 8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv) states plainly that H-4 status "does not confer eligibility for employment authorization incident to status." An H-4 spouse married to an H-1B principal can separately become eligible for an EAD. That only happens once the H-1B principal is the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant petition. It also happens if the principal's stay has been extended past the six-year H-1B cap under AC21 sections 106(a) or (b). That eligibility test, the filing process, and current processing times are the entire subject of the two posts linked above. This post is not going to rebuild them here. The full comparison of H-4, L-2, and E-2 dependent work authorization lives at visa options for spouse work authorization. That post is the right stop for anyone asking which category gets a spouse working fastest.

How long does H-4 visa status last

H-4 status is entirely derivative, and maintaining status means tracking the principal's status, not just your own paperwork. An H-4 holder's status runs for the principal's period of authorized stay, and it ends when that period ends. The document that proves this is the H-4 holder's own Form I-94. CBP confirms the I-94 shows an "Admit Until Date," which is the date through which that specific person's stay is authorized. It is the single number that controls whether someone is still in status on any given day. When the principal's H-1B petition gets an extension of stay, the H-4 holder's own status can extend too. That only happens if a matching extension is filed for the dependent. It is not automatic. When the principal changes employers through a new H-1B petition, the H-4 holder does not update automatically just because the new H-1B petition is approved. An H-4 holder already inside the United States files their own Form I-539 to match the new petition's validity period. An H-4 holder outside the United States needs a new H-4 visa stamp before that new period applies to them, unless the current stamp is still valid for re-entry. Until that update is complete, the H-4 holder's existing I-94 date still governs.

H-4 visa requirements: getting status through a consulate or Form I-539

There are two ways to meet the H-4 visa requirements and get status. Here's how to file for H-4 visa status depending on where the dependent is starting from. H-4 visas are issued at a U.S. consulate when the dependent is outside the United States, as a visa stamp placed in the passport. The approved H petition is the basis for that application. The dependent then presents the stamp and the principal's documents at the port of entry to be admitted in H-4 status. Someone already inside the United States in another status files Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. That same form covers a change into H-4 status or an extension of an existing H-4 period, filed alongside the principal's own case. As of this writing, the filing fee is $470 on paper or $420 filed online through a USCIS account. Biometrics are generally not required for an H-4 applicant filing alongside the principal's own extension, though USCIS can request them case by case. These are the core H-4 visa requirements either way: a valid relationship to the principal, proof of the principal's own current status, and a current I-94 once the process finishes. Either path produces the same result, an H-4 holder with a current I-94 tied to the principal's own status.

What happens to H-4 status when the H-1B principal loses status

If the H-1B principal is laid off or terminated, the H-4 holder's status does not end that same day. 8 CFR 214.1(l) gives the principal, and by extension their H-4 dependents, a grace period of up to 60 days. That period ends earlier instead if the principal's current authorized stay would expire sooner. That window covers finding a new sponsoring employer, changing to another status, or leaving the country. The mechanics of that window are covered in full at the 60-day grace period explained, including what counts as a qualifying event. If the grace period runs out without a new filing, H-4 status ends with it. Any H-4 EAD that was approved on the strength of that H-1B ends too. An H-4 EAD is tied to the same underlying H-1B status that H-4 itself depends on, so one cannot outlast the other.

Traveling on H-4 visa status: what a dependent needs at the border

An H-4 holder re-entering the United States needs a valid passport and a valid H-4 visa stamp if one is required for re-entry. A copy of the principal's I-797 approval notice is standard evidence of the principal's current status, and officers may ask for proof of the marriage or parent-child relationship too. CBP checks these documents at the port of entry before issuing a new Form I-94, the record that controls the H-4 holder's next authorized stay. A separate post walks through how to read and download that Form I-94 once it is issued. One real risk is worth naming directly. If an H-4 change of status or extension is still pending with USCIS and the applicant leaves the country before it is decided, USCIS treats the case as abandoned. What counts as abandonment, and when it is safer to wait out a pending filing, is covered at traveling while your petition is pending.

Getting help with your H-4 visa status

Tukki is a U.S. immigration provider that works with H-1B principals and their families on the full picture, not just the petition that got the principal here. That includes H-4 status questions and the eventual H-4 EAD if one applies. It also includes the green card process once an I-140 is in place, with dedicated attorney support and full visibility into where a case stands at every step.