I am currently on H-1 visa. I got married last year 2007 in my home country. My wife has applied to do graduate school here, and will be coming this August 2008. Also, my company will be applying green card for me and my spouse once she is in US.

The question here is whether my spouse should get F1 or H4 visa when she comes in? Is H4 a requirement for her to be eligible to be part of my green card application? The advantage of F1 is that she might be able to work at the school, but I am not sure if it is easy to go from F1 to green card.

Thanks for your help!

Your wife can file for green card as your spouse while being on F1 (proof of marriage is the criteria for green card, not visa status). However, F1 is a non immigrant visa and it will be automatically cancelled once she files I-485 petition. She will then need EAD to work. If she chooses to come on H4 and files for I-485 soon, she can work using EAD at school.

So there may be benefit in applying for F1 is she is going to start study immediately and the I-485 will be filed about the time she is about to finish her studies.

However, if I-485 will be filed before your wife starts her studies, it will be better for her to come in on H4. She can use EAD to work on campus. It is also easier to get H4 than F1.

Hope this helps.