Unique situation: H1 transfer in process, I94 expiring and passport renewed


Pratap111

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Hi All,

I am into a unique situation with a combo of H1B transfer (regular processing) I94 expiring and passport expiry and renewal.

 

I traveled to US in May 2015 on fresh H1B (stamping valid till Sep 2017). I had my passport validity till 3rd week Jun 2016 and was given I-94 matching with passport. Later in Nov 2015, I changed employer and have filed transfer in Nov 2015 in regular processing which is still pending. This transfer was submitted with old passport details (with expiry of 3rd week of Jun)

I recently renewed my passport and have given my new passport details to Attorney to update it in my pending case which they sent to USCIS. However Attorney is of opinion that USCIS may or may not update the case with new passport details and it will not be reflected in online status as well.

 

With that I have below questions:

1. Whether the case will be updated with new passport details and new petition and new I-94 will have 3 years validity (this is my fresh H1B with 5 years available)

2. In regular processing my case will not be approved until mid-Jun, which is one week before my existing I-94 (and old passport) expires. If my case is not updated with new passport , Can I get new I-94 of few days (3rd week of PP expiry - mid jun approval = 1 week or so) or in case if my case processing goes beyond 3rd week of Jun, will I get new petition with I94 expired (matching with Passport expiry of 3rd week of Jun)

3. Will my new petition will also come with Jun expiry date - giving me same option as above to renew it within a week ?

4. Will I get RFE on case (due to short validity of old passport) ? If so, new passport details as response will be good enough to have a longer term petition and I-94 ? 

5. My family is in India with a plan to travel in May and I am in dilemma whether to postpone their travel until all sorted out but it will be long. Can they travel in May with new receipt and recent pay stubs (employer suggesting that). FYI - My old employer has revoked old petition. 

 

Please advise. Appreciate your opinion.

 
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Appreciate your response pontevecchio,

Yesterday I found that now petition extension / transfers are taking 230+ days. With that my petition turn will be in June end.

1)  Since my old passport is expiring in Jun 18, so your opinion is that will I get 3 years petition and I-94 dates? So this in case if USCIS has considered my new passport details (which my Attorney had sent recently) or without that also I can get 3 yrs ? OR will I get RFE (For passport expiry matter , for others I know it depends on what docs my employer has submitted) 

2) If I PP (as you suggested), most probably I will get petition and I-94 upto Jun (as it is 3 months to go)? Do you think so ?

3) If I dont do PP (and continue in regular P) Can my family (wife+child) can travel on receipt notice+pay stubs+ old approval notice (I797 which is revoked now). According to my employer - my family can travel , 

 

Please let me know... FYI - I am in US and my family is in India. 

 

Thanks again for your response.

 

 

The new petition should be for 3 years and so will be the I94. The next time you return with the new passport and a H1 visa, you will again get the I94 till petition expiry. Passport expiry should not be a factor. Convert to PP if you want your family back sooner.

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Yes, as per previous advise, it looks like as below

 

1) USCIS does not consider passport validity to decide the petition validity. So, irrespective of your new passport is considered or not, USCIS will approve for 3 years both i797 and i94 without any RFE

 

2) The same applies for PP (Premium Processing). Passport validity does not matter for petition/i94 approval by USCIS. This will just help to get your family from India to US sooner as you will get your new petition in defined time of 15 days from when you upgrade to PP

 

3) Not aware of this scenario

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Thanks muryamini for your response. 

 

Your response suggests me that you have came across scenario/case where petition and I-94 were received for full/longer term (3 years or so) despite of passport having earlier expiry. Can you please confirm and give more details about such case ? This will give me more confidence of my situation as well. 

If you have not come across such scenario, please let me know that as well. 

 

Thanks in advance

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