i94 expires 6 months before petition expires

[Rasmi]

Hello,

In my recent visit to India, the CBP officer gave me i94 until 05-Feb-2018; because my passport is expiring on the same date. But, my petition (i-797) is valid until 07-Aug-2018.

I have applied for the new passport and received the same.

Now to extend my stay in the USA, either I need to go out of USA and come back again to get new i-94 till 07-Aug-2018, but this is not feasible for me.
So, now the question is: Am I eligible to apply for the H1B extension or not? (Because as per my knowledge the H1B extension gets applied on or within 6 months to Current petition expiry)

**And just wanted to understand whether the 6 months duration to apply extension is dependant on petition expiry or i94 expiry?

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[Dummi]

The easiest option is to cross the border at various border crossing stations either to Mexico or Canada and get an updated I-94. I did call up the CBP office at Niagara Falls and Detroit-Windsor and they both said they will issue a new I-94 while I reenter the US.

Only other option is to apply for an H1 extension and I'm pretty sure that you are aware of all the pains one has to go through. According to USCIS, you will have to apply for an H1 extension even to renew your I-94 if you don't want to cross the border and make a reentry.

I'm in the same boat as you are, but I have made plans to go to India in December before my I-94 expires.