Passport expiring soon. H1B approval and attached I-94 valid till 2018


ssjgoku

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Hello

My Indian passport is expiring soon, Jan 29th 2016 to be precise. I had my H1B renewed while I was in USA in 2015, so I have an approved petition(I-797) and attached I-94 to the petition approval is valid till Sept 2018. 

I had completely forgotten about it and saw that it was expiring on Jan 29th today. I have already started the passport renewal process and will be submitting my application asap.

My concern is that if my passport renewal gets delayed and I get a fresh passport with date of issue after Jan 29th 2016, does it cause any problems with my I-94 or legal H1B status?

My immigration attorney told me that I-94 is what governs my legal stay in the US and not my passport, so having a passport expire and getting it renewed will not cause me to go out of status. 

I wanted to check with folks here if my attorney is correct, or should I leave the county before my passport expires?

Kindly let me know.
Thanks

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  • 2 weeks later...

Your attorney is correct...follow his/her advice.

Generally an alien must be in possession of a valid passport at all times and so at your next H1B extension, the discrepancy may have to be explained by your attorney at that time.

But you should not get unduly worried at this time.....Passports services have improved a lot in recent times and hopefully you will get yours issued before Jan 29.

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