Re-enter US with 7 months left to passport expiry

[meg1987]

Hi,

I am an Indian national working on H1B in US. I have to travel to India in June this year, for two weeks.

My I-797A is valid from Oct 2016 to May 2019
My passport expires in Feb 2019

Does this mean I have to apply for a fresh passport in order to re-enter in June?

Note that I entered the US in Jan 2017 after getting my visa stamped and this was not an issue. However, my employer now advises "Ensure your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the stay of your temporary work permit (ie I797)" Not sure why this is the case but wanted to know if anyone had an issue in re-entering if their passport expiry was before their I797 validity date. I am worried because I will have 7 months remaining on my passport when I re-enter. And not sure if Indian embassy can renew my passport in a short time.

[newacct]

Does this mean I have to apply for a fresh passport in order to re-enter in June?

No but if you enter on your existing passport, at entry you will only be admitted until your passport's expiration date in Feb 2019. And if you want to stay past that you would have to either 1) exit and re-enter after you get a new passport, or 2) have your employer apply for an extension.

India is part of the 6-month club whose passports only need to be valid until the end of the period of stay. What this actually means is the immigration officer at entry will not put a date on your I-94 beyond your passport's expiration date. (For people with passports not in the 6-month club, they can only be admitted until 6 months before their passport expires.)