Extending H1b

[shahchir]

First three years of my H1b visa expires on June-30th, and my company has already sent documents for visa-extension. However, I read this article on
[link=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/752771.cms newwindow]timesofindia[/link], about going back to native-country to renew visa. Any idea about this one ???

[gcmaniac]

None of the other news papers or websites (that I know of !) have reported this news.

Also this article has misleading sentence which goes....."Those under these categories can continue in the US if their visas are extended. There is no time limit for how long they can stay so long as the visas are renewed, he said."

I don't know what the above sentence means ???? Does it mean that we can stay beyond 6 years as long as we keep on renewing the visa ? May be it means that there will no I-94 you can just stay until next renewal is due ??? Not sure what it exactly means !!!!!!

Since this is reported by Times of India only so far I would wait for some more authenticated news before believing it !

[JoeF]

Actually, that has been on a lot of news sites, including CNN, lately.
It actually has been known for quite some time already.
The official site is travel.state.gov/revals.html

There is no change for people who are in the US. The allowed stay in the US is determined by the date on the I-94.
A visa is only needed to enter the country. So, if you travel abroad, you will have to get a new visa stamp from a US consulate abroad to be able to come back.

[gcmaniac]

Thanks JoeF for the clarification!

I confused "visa renewal" with "extension of stay".

[kpr]

Need some more clarification

Hi All,

My visa is expiring on October, 2004. So I also need an extension. What I understood from your discussion is, if I want to extend my visa from withing US I can do it within US by applying for visa extension. But if I want to get stamping on my passport, I have to go to my country to get it. Is that correct?

If this is correct, this new law will affect only to those who want visa stamping on their passports, not those who need visa extension. Did I understand correctly?

Please let me know. It will be a great help. Thanks in advance for your answer.

[gcmaniac]

Re: Need some more clarification

KPR ---- your understanding is correct.