I-94 expired, but I-797 still valid

[pranay godha]

Yesterday I came to know that my I-94 is already expired on 13th Feb 2016, and right now I am out of status, but I have approved I-797, which has expiration Oct, 2017.

When I recently entered into US on 10th Jan 2016, POE officer put 13th Feb 2016 date on I-94, because I have visa stamp from my previous employer expired on 13th Feb, and officer did not ask for my I-797 from my current employer which, has expiry date 19th Oct 2017. Now I have no idea what to do. Since It has been more than 6 months to my I-94 expiration, I might have to leave USA immediately and I will be ban to enter USA for 3 years on any visa. After googling about this issue came to know following are the options for me:-

1. Go to near by CBP office and get I-94 updated(its too risky, specially, it has been more than 6 months to I-94 expiration)

2. Apply for H1B extension with Nunc pro tunc process.

This is very serious situation for me. Please help me what is the best way to solve this problem. I will really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

[pontevecchio]

They do look at your H1 petition when you enter. It is possible you showed the older petition instead of the latest one. In theory your mistake. But your take is the officer made an error and entered the date of visa expiration instead of the expiry of the latest h1 PETITION. So call the CBP and play it cool possibly hinting you made no error and then get it corrected. First run it by your company. Next time be careful with documents .

[pranay godha]

No, I did not even carry my older petition with me. He even asked for my current employer and I told him so, still do not understand why he did ask for current I-797, instead updated I-94 with previous employer visa expiry date. One mistake I can agree that I did not proactively showed my I-797, as he did not ask for, and thought he already knows everything.

Edited September 12, 2016 by pranay godha
Because of bad network condition its got lost

[pranay godha]

No, I did not even carry my older petition with me. He even asked for my current employer and I told him so, still do not understand why he did ask for current I-797, instead updated I-94 with previous employer visa expiry date. One mistake I can agree that I did not proactively showed my I-797, as he did not ask for, and thought he already knows everything.

[pontevecchio]

Do not inform the CBP Officer that you did not show the latest H1 petition. Say you entered based on the visa and this latest petition approval and you recently noticed the discrepancy. Call them first and be very polite and brief and he will ask you to come to the CBP Office maybe at the Airport. Keep your employer/HR/employer Lawyer in the loop to avoid problems and then only approach the CBP.

[pranay godha]

Finally, I am able to resolve my issue... big relief......

So as I have mentioned above, I had 2 options, but my employer's lawyer totally refused to go to CBP office and get I-94 corrected, mainly for my case where more than 6 months have passed. My employer wants to file Nunc pro tunc H1-B extension, but I was little bit hesitant, because if that will go wrong then I am gone(no other option). So what I did is consulted other lawyers, I did consult to Murthy law firm lawyer as well, and all the lawyers told me to go to CBP office first, but they were also not sure though, and said could go wrong. So I was really confused, so I returned back to my employer's lawyer, and explained him that other lawyers asking me to go to CBP officer, and was trying to convince him that maybe if there is some safer way we can ask CBP to get it corrected, and then he was little bit convinced, and he tried to consult with other lawyers in the firm, who worked with CBP before, and then he figured a way. He told me that there is a way, in which my lawyer will go to CBP and represent me. So he asked me to sign G-28 form, which is basically a from lawyer uses to represent their clients, they do in normal in H1-B filing as well. So he got the signed form and all my documents, and went to CBP office, and explained whole situation honestly, no lie, and CBP officer immediately agreed to get I-94 correct, and within an hour I was able to see my corrected I-94 online. I am so happy and relieved now. I hope this will help others to solve their cases as well

[Anupam_at]

Thanks for sharing, this is good information.

[vnehwal]

Thank you for the useful information. I had the same problem, and my i-94 was expired more than 180 days when I noticed. I think it is a common mistake. Many people don't know that they need to show their latest I-94 attached with the I-797 at the time of entry in the USA. I've got my I-94 corrected by visiting Deferred inspection office. My attorney visited there, and it was updated same day. I think, safer side might be to have an attorney visit the Deferred inspection center. 

[anusha_rao]

Thanks for helpful information.

Question - Is the G28 form required if attorney visits the CBP office or send an email to CBP office or both.

I am also in same situation as my i94 expired more than 180 days.

[Sunny28]

Hi Pranay,

Can we hire attorney outside and they can represent us going to CBP to fix the i94 issue.

 

[MithilB]

Hey Guys,

I've same situation. Last I entered US in 2016.  I had valid H1B till 09/2018, but my passport was about to expire in 09/2017, so my I-94 has Valid Through date as 09/2017. I got a new passport well before 09/2017, but my i-94 date remained unchanged. Valid Through Date on my 1-94 on I-797 is 9/2018. I recently found this and so, I'm more than 6 months past the I-94 date. Since it was a case of passport expiring, and was unintentional, what would be a better option: Applying NPT or explaining CBP officer?  

Let me know your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

[Anu1604]

On 4/24/2018 at 8:34 PM, MithilB said:

Hey Guys,

I've same situation. Last I entered US in 2016.  I had valid H1B till 09/2018, but my passport was about to expire in 09/2017, so my I-94 has Valid Through date as 09/2017. I got a new passport well before 09/2017, but my i-94 date remained unchanged. Valid Through Date on my 1-94 on I-797 is 9/2018. I recently found this and so, I'm more than 6 months past the I-94 date. Since it was a case of passport expiring, and was unintentional, what would be a better option: Applying NPT or explaining CBP officer?  

Let me know your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Hi Mithlib,

what did you do in your case? We are in same situation. Please reply.

 

thanks,

anusha.

 

 

 

[Anu1604]

Hi Pranay,

We are in similar situation as yours. Could you please email me at ella.anusha16@gmail.com

 

your help is much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Anusha

[Anu1604]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 8:34 PM, MithilB said:

Hey Guys,

I've same situation. Last I entered US in 2016.  I had valid H1B till 09/2018, but my passport was about to expire in 09/2017, so my I-94 has Valid Through date as 09/2017. I got a new passport well before 09/2017, but my i-94 date remained unchanged. Valid Through Date on my 1-94 on I-797 is 9/2018. I recently found this and so, I'm more than 6 months past the I-94 date. Since it was a case of passport expiring, and was unintentional, what would be a better option: Applying NPT or explaining CBP officer?  

Let me know your thoughts.

 

Thanks!

Hi Mithlib,

I'm in exact similar situation as yours. What did you do in your case. Please help.

 

Thanks,

Anusha,

[SM138]

Hi Anusha,

Was your issue solved? What did you have to do? Please respond! 

[SM138]

On 6/28/2019 at 11:07 AM, Anu1604 said:

Hi Mithlib,

I'm in exact similar situation as yours. What did you do in your case. Please help.

 

Thanks,

Anusha,

Hi Anusha,

Was your issue resolved? What did you have to do? I'm in the same situation. Please respond! 

[Anu1604]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:48 AM, SM138 said:

Hi Anusha,

Was your issue resolved? What did you have to do? I'm in the same situation. Please respond! 

Hi,

 

I'm leaving to India next month. Let me know what your attorneys have suggested.

 

Thanks,

Praveen

[Abhi1175]

Hi ,

i can share my experience since its too recent and at the time of Covid-19.

i was in similar situation as my I94 was expired(more than 6 months) ago and i needed correction asap  for my H1b Extension.

Day1: My attorney sent me email saying that your  I 94 is expired and needed to renew on Thursday  i got the email Thursday  4PM

cpb office hours are 8am to 4 pm FYi

As i am located in SFO , I have emailed them with my i797 , expired I94, visa, passport at the same day Thursday.

I called them On sfo office around 10 AM  next day that is Friday morning and explained them my situation ( i thought Friday sfo office is closed as its given in deferred inspection site  but i think its closed for in person interviews not for phone and other work)

CBP officer : please  send an email . With all the documents.

I : i have sent email with all the document.

officer said : It will get updated in 3-5 days.it may take more time based on our application in backlogs.

I : thanks officer.

officer: bye have a good day and hung up.

same day (Friday) Evening i checked I94 was updated with my actual petition on I797.

it was as smooth as it is .

just to make sure you send all the documents properly and keep attorney in loop while sending email. 

i dint have to go in person or had to call them second time.

eventually its really hard  to think when your I94 gets expired . But don't worry if you have valid petition  you can send email.

remember some offices still dont use email and you might need to go to CBP office or need to call them . 

this happened on  july 1st week 2020.

good luck all who is facing the same issue . 

 

Edited July 11, 2020 by Abhi1175
Typo

[Sid2194]

Hello What is the updated on this issue?

I am facing similar issue. My H1B was approved in Aug, 2019. I traveled to Canada for 2 days in Oct, 2019 and came back on old stamp which was valid until Feb, 2020. Now I checked my I-94, it says valid until Feb, 2020. 

 

Any idea how to tackle this situation?

[Sid2194]

Hi Abhi - Can you please send me email on 'sskhot@ncsu.edu'? I would like to discuss my issue in depth with you to get proper guidance. 

 

 

[vasukar]

Hello All,

I got in to the same situation and below are the steps i took to get it corrected.

Last port of entry: July 19, 2019,  I797/H1B Expiration date: 1/5/2021, Passport expiration: 7/5/2020.

During the port of entry i got my I94 stamped until 7/5/2020 which was my passport expiration date. I recently got my renewed passport but forgot to update my I94. It was almost 30 days since the I94 was expired. On 8/4/2020 today, I called the CBP office of my nearest location [Use this link to find it: https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/deferred-inspection-sites] and explained the situation. They asked me to email some documents for both me and my wife which i did today morning and within couple of hours i received the email that my I94 got updated for both me and my wife. I did check and confirmed on the I94 official site and everything looked good.

Please do not panic and hope this information helps for everyone who are in to the same situation of I94 expired but I797/Visa is still valid.

[Ganeshgnn]

@vasukar

May I know what documents did you send and also which deferred Inspection site that You have contacted.

My situation is little different,  I realized after 1 year(exactly 425 days still counting) that my I94 was expired. I tried NJ/NY CBPs they said it's not correction it's the validity of my expired passport. Maybe I can check my luck at your inspection site. Please share all details so that it would be helpful for me to check with them. 
My old passport expired date: 05/2019
I94 validity given based on my old passport: 05/2019
I797 expiry date: 10/2020

[Dheepak01]

My wife is in a similar situation. Her I94 expired on Jan 10 2020 (based on old passport expiration date). She has a valid stamped H4 Visa and valid I797 petition till May 2021. 

how should we proceed? can we just call the nearest CBP deferred site and explain the scenario and hope they agree to resolve this? or should be go through a attorney and file NPT process to get this done. 

Please HELP. She has an expired I94 for last 290 odd days. 

Any help is appreciated. 

Thanks,

Dheepak G