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Hi, this is my first post on these forums, so first of all, I'd like to say hi!
My wife & I are both British Citizens, currently in the US on an E2 Visa (1st rec’d Nov 2004), which isn’t set to expire until 2009. However our I-94 cards are set to expire in mid-November 2006, which is fast approaching… Everything from our drivers licenses to my critical EAD card work around the I-94 date, so a renewal is a must !!!!
However not is all as simple as it would seem. We have just had our 2nd baby (both kids are US Citizens) and as this was only last week, we are waiting on the birth certificate, before being able to apply for the passport. A passport can take weeks to arrive, and I’ve just discovered that my EAD renewal says I should apply for a replacement card at least 100days before my existing card runs out.
Really we need to renew our I-94’s immediately… and not wait two months for the birth cert and passport to arrive.
We can’t just leave our new born with friends, which would be one solution, simply because we don’t know anyone well enough. We were unable to sort this our prior to the baby, as my wife has been on best rest for the last 4months due to a high risk pregnancy, so I am looking at ways to work around this problem now that the baby is safely born.
Here are my two options, But I have questions regarding both.
Option1. Drive/fly through the Canadian border. This will kill two birds with one stone, get the I-94’s renewed and bring the baby, without having to wait for a passport, because it’s Canada and passports aren’t needed to cross the border. (Can someone confirm this?)
What I don’t know though is a drive or flight across the border enough to get an I-94 renewed? Being that we are still in the America’s. A visa waiver insists you leave the America’s, is this the same with an I-94 renewal? Also can someone confirm, they’ll allow us to take our baby across the border without a passport?
Option2. Grab a relatively in-expensive cruise, bring the whole family, Living in Fl, this is the most attractive option, avoiding planes, and a long haul drive ! Though two questions present themselves again.
Is this enough for an I-94 renewal ? Being that some cruises only go to Mexico (leaving the America’s again? Or would it need to be a Caribbean cruise? The whole goal here is to get my I-94 renewed. How can I do this, with the baby not having a passport? Providing he doesn’t get off the boat, then wouldn’t this be ok? Does he need a passport to get on a boat? At what point do you go through the ‘Port of Entry’ when an immigration officer issues you a new I-94? If this is on the boat, then this seems the ideal scenario to me, the wife both take it in turns to go through immigration, while the other stays guarding the new born… Both get our new I-94’s and we both come back three days later.
I ask this question to all E2 visa holders, as you’ve all had the same dilemma, needing to get your I-94’s renewed every two years. I suspect most have opted for the cruises? As flying back home can get rather costly.
Lastly, what can one expect while going through the port of entry? I shall be taking my business tax returns, is this sufficient or do the immigration officers want to see more? Can I expect an interrogation? Maybe I’m just being paranoid here, but the thought of being denied re-entry is kind of scary.
Thanks in advance.
My wife & I are both British Citizens, currently in the US on an E2 Visa (1st rec’d Nov 2004), which isn’t set to expire until 2009. However our I-94 cards are set to expire in mid-November 2006, which is fast approaching… Everything from our drivers licenses to my critical EAD card work around the I-94 date, so a renewal is a must !!!!
However not is all as simple as it would seem. We have just had our 2nd baby (both kids are US Citizens) and as this was only last week, we are waiting on the birth certificate, before being able to apply for the passport. A passport can take weeks to arrive, and I’ve just discovered that my EAD renewal says I should apply for a replacement card at least 100days before my existing card runs out.
Really we need to renew our I-94’s immediately… and not wait two months for the birth cert and passport to arrive.
We can’t just leave our new born with friends, which would be one solution, simply because we don’t know anyone well enough. We were unable to sort this our prior to the baby, as my wife has been on best rest for the last 4months due to a high risk pregnancy, so I am looking at ways to work around this problem now that the baby is safely born.
Here are my two options, But I have questions regarding both.
Option1. Drive/fly through the Canadian border. This will kill two birds with one stone, get the I-94’s renewed and bring the baby, without having to wait for a passport, because it’s Canada and passports aren’t needed to cross the border. (Can someone confirm this?)
What I don’t know though is a drive or flight across the border enough to get an I-94 renewed? Being that we are still in the America’s. A visa waiver insists you leave the America’s, is this the same with an I-94 renewal? Also can someone confirm, they’ll allow us to take our baby across the border without a passport?
Option2. Grab a relatively in-expensive cruise, bring the whole family, Living in Fl, this is the most attractive option, avoiding planes, and a long haul drive ! Though two questions present themselves again.
Is this enough for an I-94 renewal ? Being that some cruises only go to Mexico (leaving the America’s again? Or would it need to be a Caribbean cruise? The whole goal here is to get my I-94 renewed. How can I do this, with the baby not having a passport? Providing he doesn’t get off the boat, then wouldn’t this be ok? Does he need a passport to get on a boat? At what point do you go through the ‘Port of Entry’ when an immigration officer issues you a new I-94? If this is on the boat, then this seems the ideal scenario to me, the wife both take it in turns to go through immigration, while the other stays guarding the new born… Both get our new I-94’s and we both come back three days later.
I ask this question to all E2 visa holders, as you’ve all had the same dilemma, needing to get your I-94’s renewed every two years. I suspect most have opted for the cruises? As flying back home can get rather costly.
Lastly, what can one expect while going through the port of entry? I shall be taking my business tax returns, is this sufficient or do the immigration officers want to see more? Can I expect an interrogation? Maybe I’m just being paranoid here, but the thought of being denied re-entry is kind of scary.
Thanks in advance.
