H1 & I-94 travel to India

[dcpk73]

Hi All

Recently my H1-visa is transfered from A to B. My original I-94(stamped on the passport) is expired 2008 october

1. The I-94 for A is valid till May 2011 and they have revoked my visa for sure because I have switched jobs.

2. I got Approval for Employer B, and a new I-94 which is valid till november 2011 but I dont have the originals but only copies are there

3. I want to go to India, but I have only I-94 of Employer A only. Is that ok to travel with A I-94 which is valid till May 2011.
4. My Employer B is not giving me the original H1 document to me.

Please advise.

[Subramanya]

Recently my H1-visa is transfered from A to B. My original I-94(stamped on the passport) is expired 2008 october

1. The I-94 for A is valid till May 2011 and they have revoked my visa for sure because I have switched jobs.

2. I got Approval for Employer B, and a new I-94 which is valid till november 2011 but I dont have the originals but only copies are there

---- The I-94 from employer B reflects your present status in the US

3. I want to go to India, but I have only I-94 of Employer A only. Is that ok to travel with A I-94 which is valid till May 2011.

---- It is OK to travel to India with I-94 of emp A. But ideally when travelling overseas you should submit all I-94's at the Port of departure.

---- Try with emp. B to get the I-94 it belongs to you and not the employer. At the time of return to the US you will need your original H1 petition to be shown to the IO at the POE for getting a new I-94 valid till Nov. 2011 assuming you have a visa from emp. A

4. My Employer B is not giving me the original H1 document to me.

---- For your return you should have a visa stamped on your Passport either from emp. A or emp. B

Subramanya

[abhayg4]

Hi,

First of all -you have to HAND OVER /GIVE all your I-94 at the US Airport whiile going back to india to the Airline authorities .This is a MUST and don't take any I-94 with you otherwise it will create Problems.

Now , second point you are saying that you have only the Photocopy of the I-797 from Company B.
I am assuming that they must have given you the BOTTOM part of the I-797 in original (as it should be given to you as per the instructions given by US Immigration dept) which consist of two parts (RIGHT PART is I-94 and LEFT PART is for your reference)

When is your Visa expiring ? if it is still valid from previous employer then you don;t need a stamping again from company B and can travel with it.
But if it is expired then u need to go for stamping again and for that as per the requirements from Consulate u need the ORIGINAL I-797 nowdays.(without original it is a RISK i.e. consulate can still verify ur docs from PIMS but still it is not 100% gurantee without original).
So , ask your employer that it is a must for stamping and show them the requirements list from the VFS site and will return it when u come back.
Also make sure that u have all other docs also from the employer as required for H1 stamping like LCA , employment letter etc.

Thanks and Regards,
Abhay

[dcpk73]

Hi Subramnayam and abhagya

Thanks for your replies

1, My visa expired last year october

2. Emplyer A's I-94 was a transfer so I have visa till 2011 may

3. Since I transfered to B, A has revoked visa but valid I-94. I know that I have to submit all my I-94s but if I dont have B's I-94 then I cannot submit. then my question is would I be considered as ilegal?

Please advise

[abhayg4]

Hi dcpk73,

First of all Visa and petitions are two different things.
Stamping in ur Passport is VISA and I-797 is the Petition.
And third is I-94 which governs your Legal Status/time u can stay in US

So ur H1 Visa expired last October and after transfer your H1 Petition is valid till MAY'2011 and not Visa .

Now u will be considered Legal as long as your current I-94 doesn;t EXPIRE i.e. U can stay in US till the date mentioned in I-94 (Note that I-94 is the bottommost RIGHT part of ur current I-797 from company B).

Now u r saying that u don;t have company B I-94 . Are they (company B) not giving to you???????
They HAVE TO as it is ur document and u have to return it while going back to India.It is clearly written in I-797 that bottom part of I-797 belongs to the applicant i.e. YOU and should be given to you.

What reason they are giiving for not giving the I-94 to you?

Regards,
Abhay

[shervin143]

Now u r saying that u don;t have company B I-94 . Are they (company B) not giving to you???????
They HAVE TO as it is ur document and u have to return it while going back to India.It is clearly written in I-797 that bottom part of I-797 belongs to the applicant i.e. YOU and should be given to you.

What reason they are giiving for not giving the I-94 to you?

>>>>
You don't always get new I-94 with the I-797 approval notice. There are times, when they will just send the I-797 approval notice without the extended I-94.

dcpk73, do you have the original approval notice with you? If yes, then check to see if you have got a new I-94 with that. The date on that is the date until which you can legally stay in U.S. If not, you have two options

1) You can go to a local Immigration Office, produce the required documents and TRY to get an extended I-94 before the existing I-94 expires.

2) If the first option doesn't work out, then you have to travel outside U.S and enter back with a new I-94 provided your visa is not expired. If your existing visa in the passport has expired, then you need to go for stamping.

Hi dcpk73,

First of all Visa and petitions are two different things.
Stamping in ur Passport is VISA and I-797 is the Petition.
And third is I-94 which governs your Legal Status/time u can stay in US

So ur H1 Visa expired last October and after transfer your H1 Petition is valid till MAY'2011 and not Visa .

Now u will be considered Legal as long as your current I-94 doesn;t EXPIRE i.e. U can stay in US till the date mentioned in I-94 (Note that I-94 is the bottommost RIGHT part of ur current I-797 from company B).

Now u r saying that u don;t have company B I-94 . Are they (company B) not giving to you???????
They HAVE TO as it is ur document and u have to return it while going back to India.It is clearly written in I-797 that bottom part of I-797 belongs to the applicant i.e. YOU and should be given to you.

What reason they are giiving for not giving the I-94 to you?

Regards,
Abhay