I-94 Extension & Passport Renewal

[vyuvarajin]

Dear Members,

Please help me with your expert opinion if anybody has faced the same challenging situation earlier:

1. I have received my I-797B, Notice of Action and it has mentioned it is valid from Oct 1st, 2015 to Sept 22nd, 2018.
2. I haven't applied for Visa interview(stamping) yet.
3. My passport validity is ending in Dec 2016.
4. My Wife and Son have passport validity till July,2020 and Jan 2020 respectively.
5. Have to apply for H-4 visa as well for my dependent and planned to travel all three together to USA by end of this year.

Question 1: Is it advisable to apply for new passport (So that I can update my latest address, add my spouse name, etc) at this stage?.i.e before visa interview and stamping? Will there be any issue during visa interview, since on all the H-1B related document, my old passport number have mentioned and I have new one too?

Question 2: As my passport is valid till Dec 2016, will my port of entry or I-94 be up to that date, i.e Dec,2016?

Question 3: Will my dependents also get a separate I-94, if so till when they can stay in USA? Is it related to my I-94 status?

If I traveled to USA with old passport.

Question 4: Can I apply for new passport during my stay in USA? say by start of June, 2016?

Question 5: Should I need to visit India with family to extend my I-94 after getting new passport to extend my stay till the valid period mentioned on I-797B?

Question 6: Can I stay the entire 3 year period in USA and extend my visa from USA itself or I need to come back to India for extension?

I would be really thankful, if you can help me getting clarity on these issues.

Thanks in advance.

[raghvi]

Dear Members,

Please help me with your expert opinion if anybody has faced the same challenging situation earlier:

1. I have received my I-797B, Notice of Action and it has mentioned it is valid from Oct 1st, 2015 to Sept 22nd, 2018.
2. I haven't applied for Visa interview(stamping) yet.
3. My passport validity is ending in Dec 2016.
4. My Wife and Son have passport validity till July,2020 and Jan 2020 respectively.
5. Have to apply for H-4 visa as well for my dependent and planned to travel all three together to USA by end of this year.

Question 1: Is it advisable to apply for new passport (So that I can update my latest address, add my spouse name, etc) at this stage?.i.e before visa interview and stamping? Will there be any issue during visa interview, since on all the H-1B related document, my old passport number have mentioned and I have new one too?

Question 2: As my passport is valid till Dec 2016, will my port of entry or I-94 be up to that date, i.e Dec,2016?

Question 3: Will my dependents also get a separate I-94, if so till when they can stay in USA? Is it related to my I-94 status?

If I traveled to USA with old passport.

Question 4: Can I apply for new passport during my stay in USA? say by start of June, 2016?

Question 5: Should I need to visit India with family to extend my I-94 after getting new passport to extend my stay till the valid period mentioned on I-797B?

Question 6: Can I stay the entire 3 year period in USA and extend my visa from USA itself or I need to come back to India for extension?

I would be really thankful, if you can help me getting clarity on these issues.

Thanks in advance.

1. I don't think you can apply for a new passport when the existing passport has validity more than 12 Months.
2. Yes most likely.
3. They may get I-94 till Visa end date.
4. Yes you can.
5. After getting a new passport, you can go to nearest CBP office and they generally issue a new I-94 matching your visa expiry date. If they do not then you can apply I539 while in US, if that also doesn't work you an go out of US and re enter to get a new I94.
6. Visa (stamping in passport), petition (I797), and I-94(issued upon entry to US) are three different things. If your I797 is valid till Sep 2018, you most probably would get a visa till then , what you would probably need to do is to extend is your I-94, after passport renewal, as mentioned in 5 above. Many folks do it without going back to home country, I don't think you really need to fret over it.

This is my opinion not legal advice.