Urgent-Is I-94 extension (after passport renewal) happening at Tijuana-Mexico OR Stopped !!!

[Naveen Vijay]

On 8/27/2016 at 10:34 PM, kasuhik1978 said:

Hi All

 

I need to get the I94 date changed after passport renewal. So I was wondering if somebody have tried to do the same via Laredo TX port of entry? Any help will be deeply appreciated.

 

Thanks

Kaushik

Hello Kaushik,

Could you please share your experiences in Laredo Port of entry; if you had done that. I have read posts about people doing in at Tijuana but haven't heard about Laredo in the forum.

Regards

Naveen

[NewAmerican]

On 8/16/2016 at 0:46 AM, priyatham said:

Hi All,

 

I have got my I-94 renewed last Saturday at Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego. Thank you all for the posts which helped me get it.

 

I drove all the way to the CBP office. The address is below

 

SENTRI / Global Entry - Otay Mesa Enrollment Centre.

2500 Paseo Internacional, San Diego, CA 92154

 

There is a McDonalds & Ihop at the entrance of the street where you can park your car for free. From there, the CBP office is only 5 min walk.

 

I didn't even have to cross the border. The security officer there told me that I can directly get the new I-94. So, directly went to the cashier counter on the US side, paid $6 and got a request form. Then stood in the I-94 queue and the officer issued me a new I-94.

 

FYI :

My case - I needed new I-94 to match my visa expiration date. My I-94 was expiring because of my old passport validity date.

 

Thanks

Priyatham, I cannot thank you enough for this post of yours. I followed the exact steps of yours and I could extend I-94 without passing the border into Mexico. Here it is my experience which was unique in some sense:

I entered the country in August 2016 on H1B petition which was valid for three years up to 2019, but the officer issued I-94 till the expiration date of my passport which was April 2017 at the time. To have peace of mind with my stay here I wanted to extend the I-94 now rather than leaving it till April 2017 when it is going to expire. I also had reservations because my H1B entry visa was single entry as it is the case for citizens of very few countries not having good relations with US. So I was not sure if I could extend the I-94 while my single entry visa is used and expired already. Actually, my employer told me that the only way for me to extend I-94 is to leave the country and apply for another entry visa and enter again and extend I-94 while passing the border with the new single entry visa. I was scared to follow this option because it might take months for me to get another entry visa to be able to get back into the country (again because of my citizenship) and it would endanger my job here.

Anyways I renewed my passport and I spent two days reading forums, and visited local CBP and they said I should visit CBP at either Mexican or Canadian border and they should be able to extend I-94. So once I was visiting friends at Los Angeles, I drove down to the Mexican border down San Diego on mid November 2016 and parked at McDonalds close by as it is advised by Priyatham. Less than five minutes walk and I was in the CBP building right on the border. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PASS THE BORDER, as I did not do so. The building is here:

SENTRI / Global Entry - Otay Mesa Enrollment Centre.

2500 Paseo Internacional, San Diego, CA 92154

You walk right into the building, pay 6$ at the cashier window, then you can see the room for permissions and I-94. You get into the line if there is any (not much line in my case) and when it is your turn the officer asks you what you need. It was about 11:00 am, all officers were so young and the lady was kind of confused to see my visa is single entry and it is used already (expired). She was nice and helpful, she asked many questions about what my job is and when I entered the country and like that, she consulted with computer and couple times with her supervisors. After 10 min the supervisor (who was young too) came to me and explained that he cannot override the decision of another officer (the date on the stamp on my old passport) and extend it right now because the stamp is still valid for five months. Fortunately he did not have issue with single entry visa, but he said I should get back close to the expiry date so he can extend it. But it is interesting to see they can be flexible on it if they like. So he first said I should get back within 10 days before expiry of the I-94, they when I explained that my boss needs to make sure I will be available to work for them from now, he said he could do it in Feb 2017, then he said even in Jan 2017 should be fine. After watching me desperately asking for extension now, I could see the officer was really on the fence to give me the extension, and the other officer was kind of encouraging him to do so too. Anyways he asked me to come back in January or late December. In the middle of the conversation, I learned that their shift is changing at 2:00 pm. So I spend three hours in San Diego and came back at 2:30 pm the same day to see if I have any chances. I had to pay $6 again. The officers were all new and also older and more experienced they seem. To my complete surprise, the officer asked no single question, scanned the old passport and stamped the new passport with the new date and extended the I94 up to 2019 which is the date for my H1B approval. I checked it online when I got out minutes later and I could see the change online. I was speechless by how different it was with different officers (all officers were extremely nice and helpful though). So even if you had trouble with one officer you should RETURN BACK ANOTHER TIME TO SEE ANOTHER OFFICER and there is good chance that you will have totally different decision made.

Edited November 23, 2016 by NewAmerican

[Naveen Vijay]

On 10/10/2016 at 11:24 AM, Naveen Vijay said:

Hello Kaushik,

Could you please share your experiences in Laredo Port of entry; if you had done that. I have read posts about people doing in at Tijuana but haven't heard about Laredo in the forum.

Regards

Naveen

Hi,

I went to Laredo, TX, to get my new i94 by paying the $6 fee - the process was straightforward. Please be patient and explain your situation to the officers - they are helpful. 

Regards

Naveen

[Jaisi24]

Hi 

i live in Minneapolis and my i94 is expiring in Jan 5 2017 and I have applied for I 539  on nov and when I called the cust care uscis I was told that they r processing currently cases from march..if I can visit any border nearby which is the one and watz the process

 

thanks

 

 

[lshyamsv]

Hi,

Today at Otay Mesa I got my I94 extended to match my Visa expiration date (This is because of passport expiry). The process is really simple as explained by others.

Steps I followed,

1. Reached here SENTRI / Global Entry - Otay Mesa Enrollment Centre.

2. You need not cross the border. This center is inside US.

3. You will see enrollment center, walk straight ahead Go toward Permits, before that pay $6 at the cashier (There was no queue at all)

4. Officer called me in.

5. Asked me "why are you here", I answered - "to get I94 extension" then he asked me "why did u go to Mexico",  I answered - "I didn't go to Mexico, I am just here to get I94 extension since its expiring in 2 weeks and I need to leave the country and get back to match the Visa dates"

6. He told me to wait and he consulted an officer, which took 2 mins.

7. He came back and asked general questions like, "What do I do?" , "Give me your full address". 

8. Took the passport. Fingerprints and took a photo.

9. Stamped and also gave an I94 card matching Visa dates.

The whole process took 15 mins.

Thanks,

Shyam.

 

 

 

[AKC]

@priyatham - Thank you very much for your advise. I am so happy that your experience helped me ! I got my i-94 expiration date at SENTRI office that you indicated above.

For those who are interested in knowing the process to extend/adjust their i-94 expiration dates at SENTRI office please, here's my experience:

Location: 

SENTRI / Global Entry - Otay Mesa Enrollment Centre, 2500 Paseo Internacional, San Diego, CA 92154

Office hours: 24 x 7

It's a small unit at the border with couple of CBP officers. I visited at 5 AM and luckily I was the only person at that time. They DIDN'T ask any questions. The lady at the counter was very friendly and took about 2 MINS and immediately got my i-94 date extended. Within 2 mins the online i-94 date also reflected the new expiration date.

 

Thank you so much all for all the inputs and this community is truly a great one. 

[SR7]

On 2/27/2017 at 2:15 AM, AKC said:

@priyatham - Thank you very much for your advise. I am so happy that your experience helped me ! I got my i-94 expiration date at SENTRI office that you indicated above.

For those who are interested in knowing the process to extend/adjust their i-94 expiration dates at SENTRI office please, here's my experience:

Location: 

SENTRI / Global Entry - Otay Mesa Enrollment Centre, 2500 Paseo Internacional, San Diego, CA 92154

Office hours: 24 x 7

It's a small unit at the border with couple of CBP officers. I visited at 5 AM and luckily I was the only person at that time. They DIDN'T ask any questions. The lady at the counter was very friendly and took about 2 MINS and immediately got my i-94 date extended. Within 2 mins the online i-94 date also reflected the new expiration date.

 

Thank you so much all for all the inputs and this community is truly a great one. 

Hi,

 

I would want to update my i94 as per visa in my old passport, recently i have renewed my passport and need to have i94 updates as well.Could you tell me the process.

 

Thanks in advance

[H1 Worker]

Hi,

May I know if any one has got their I94 updated at Detroit Canada border?

What are the borders PoE points which can get our I94s updated?

Thanks

Shravan

[So_Kor]

Hi ,

My I94 is getting expired in July 2017 because my passport is getting expired in July 2017, but my visa and petition are valid till Jan 2018. I am thinking of going to Tijuana border through San Ysidro to extend my I94 has any body recently got their I94 extended through Tijuana border? Please share your experience if you have done so. Thank you for your help.

[Narra]

Hi All,

I have got i-94 only till passport expiry date but have valid visa stamping till Aug 2019. I recently got the passport renewed and looking for information to get my i-94 extension.

 

Som_k- Just saw your message. Are you planning to travel to San Diego border to get your i-94 extension? Please let me know, we can plan to go together. I live in Ohio.

[Sankar B]

On 11/28/2016 at 10:57 AM, Naveen Vijay said:

Hi,

I went to Laredo, TX, to get my new i94 by paying the $6 fee - the process was straightforward. Please be patient and explain your situation to the officers - they are helpful. 

Regards

Naveen

Hi Naveen,

Could you please let me know if you crossed the border at Laredo, TX? I need to get by I-94 renewed as I got the expiry date of passport on I-94.

Thanks,

Sankar

Edited April 6, 2017 by Sankar B
Added thanks

[Raj_me]

I am also trying to renew my I-94 since it has the same expiration as my old passport. I renewed my passport and was informed by a CBP officer to exit and reenter US for getting an extended I-94 matching the expiration of my current H-1B visa date. However, to my surprise he also mentioned that if visiting either Canada, Mexico or Caribbean Islands, one must have to stay at least 30 days before entering US in order to get the new I-94. Is this really True???

I have been reading in forums that people are getting their I-94 renewed on the same day. I am planning to go to San Diego-Tijuana border next week, so if someone would clarify the 30 day rule, that would be great. This is very urgent.

Also, I was advised by another CBP official to exit the country before my I-94 expires and return to US after expiration of I-94, otherwise I will not get my I-94 extended to match the H-1B visa expiration date. I really don't believe this, but want to have some expert advice on this issue.

Thank you all for your help. The posts on this forum have been extremely helpful.

 

 

[pontevecchio]

You can get a new I94 provided you politely insist and pay the 12 Dollars or so which is the fee. If you do not have the gumption to tell him in plain English that YOU ARE NOT USING AVR and that you need a new I94 as you changed passports , then you need to ask your employer what they suggest.

[Narra]

On 5/4/2017 at 8:40 PM, Raj_me said:

I am also trying to renew my I-94 since it has the same expiration as my old passport. I renewed my passport and was informed by a CBP officer to exit and reenter US for getting an extended I-94 matching the expiration of my current H-1B visa date. However, to my surprise he also mentioned that if visiting either Canada, Mexico or Caribbean Islands, one must have to stay at least 30 days before entering US in order to get the new I-94. Is this really True???

I have been reading in forums that people are getting their I-94 renewed on the same day. I am planning to go to San Diego-Tijuana border next week, so if someone would clarify the 30 day rule, that would be great. This is very urgent.

Also, I was advised by another CBP official to exit the country before my I-94 expires and return to US after expiration of I-94, otherwise I will not get my I-94 extended to match the H-1B visa expiration date. I really don't believe this, but want to have some expert advice on this issue.

Thank you all for your help. The posts on this forum have been extremely helpful.

 

 

Hi Raj, 

I am in the same situation. Can you please email me so ee can talk?

 

[suresh49]

On 4/6/2017 at 8:09 AM, Sankar B said:

Hi Naveen,

Could you please let me know if you crossed the border at Laredo, TX? I need to get by I-94 renewed as I got the expiry date of passport on I-94.

Thanks,

Sankar

 

Sankar,

Can you please let me know if you go to Laredo, TX? Did you cross the border?

Thanks,

Suresh

[Sankar B]

Hi Suresh,

I was able to get my wife's I-94 extend till the visa expiry date at Laredo, TX. We have crossed the border at Laredo using International Bridge 1 (Gateway to the Americas) by walk and went into Mexico and did a U-turn and came back into US.  We had to wait for 2 hrs in line as there are so many people coming into US from Mexico (local people).  You have to tell the CBP officer that you came for I94 extension and they will direct you to temporary CBP office as there is construction going on. One of lady CBP officer in the office took my wife's passports and verified everything and gave new I-94 form and asked us to pay $6 for new I-94.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Sankar

[suresh49]

On 5/16/2017 at 8:59 AM, Sankar B said:

Hi Suresh,

I was able to get my wife's I-94 extend till the visa expiry date at Laredo, TX. We have crossed the border at Laredo using International Bridge 1 (Gateway to the Americas) by walk and went into Mexico and did a U-turn and came back into US.  We had to wait for 2 hrs in line as there are so many people coming into US from Mexico (local people).  You have to tell the CBP officer that you came for I94 extension and they will direct you to temporary CBP office as there is construction going on. One of lady CBP officer in the office took my wife's passports and verified everything and gave new I-94 form and asked us to pay $6 for new I-94.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

Sankar

 

Thanks Sankar for the details!

[sarika0607]

My petition was approved in Jan 2017 with new approved I-94 till June 2020. I went for vacation to India and returned in May 2017. At POE, the officer gave me I-94 till 26-June 2017 which is my current petition expiry date. I went to CBP deferred location and they refused to correct I-94 as according to them my approved 797 will come in effect on 27-June-2017 and the system will automatically update I-94. My attorney says that due to Last Action rule, I will be out of status after 26th June 2017. If I go to US/Mexico border, can I get the I-94 corrected for such a scenario? I see that most of the people either had expired I-94 or expired passport. Pl. advice.

[sarika0607]

I am in Houston and want to go to Loredo, TX. If anyone is going there before 15 June 2017, pl. let me know.

 

 

[Nkrish]

On 5/4/2017 at 5:40 PM, Raj_me said:

I am also trying to renew my I-94 since it has the same expiration as my old passport. I renewed my passport and was informed by a CBP officer to exit and reenter US for getting an extended I-94 matching the expiration of my current H-1B visa date. However, to my surprise he also mentioned that if visiting either Canada, Mexico or Caribbean Islands, one must have to stay at least 30 days before entering US in order to get the new I-94. Is this really True???

I have been reading in forums that people are getting their I-94 renewed on the same day. I am planning to go to San Diego-Tijuana border next week, so if someone would clarify the 30 day rule, that would be great. This is very urgent.

Also, I was advised by another CBP official to exit the country before my I-94 expires and return to US after expiration of I-94, otherwise I will not get my I-94 extended to match the H-1B visa expiration date. I really don't believe this, but want to have some expert advice on this issue.

Thank you all for your help. The posts on this forum have been extremely helpful.

 

 

Hi Raj_Me

have you visited the san diego tijuana border ? Can u please share your experience as i am also in the same situation and i am planning to goto sandiego this month

thanks !

[nag_on]

Hi,

 

I am on the east coast near Baltimore, has anyone had any experience of getting a new I-94 stamping in Canada(Niagara Falls) after Passport renewal.

Please help as i only have a few more days with my current I-94.

Is it illegal if i stay past the current I-94 without a new stamp in my new passport while i plan to go to Mexico?

Thanks for your help.

-Raj 

[skammila]

Hi Guys, My wife's( who is on H4) passport is expiring and we got a new passport. We need to get new I-94 so that the validity will extend till the visa date.

Though current I-94 is valid till February/2018, we want the get the renewal immediately for her H-4 EAD process.

Can she fly to Mexico and return immediately for this? Going to San Diego by road is tough with my kid. Please suggest if this is possible.

[Bhas1234]

Hi Guys, can someone please advise?

I am in the same boat as others. My I-94 is expiring (in early next year) prior to my visa stamping date due to passport expiry. I already got my new passport and planning to travel to Mexico border for extension.

Will re-entry to US be stopped for any reason? 

Are the officers still checking the mobiles/social media/mails ?

[Bhas1234]

On 6/1/2017 at 11:28 AM, Nkrish said:

Hi Raj_Me

have you visited the san diego tijuana border ? Can u please share your experience as i am also in the same situation and i am planning to goto sandiego this month

thanks !

Hi NKrish,

Did you get your I-94 extension? if already done, please share your experience.

Otherwise, I am planning to go there in this/next week  & looking for, if anyone else would like to join with me.

- Bhaskar

[SR7]

My i94 is expiring in next month so i have planned to get my i94 extension this month and  flying to Sandiego this weekend to get my i94 extension at otay mesa poe.