I-94 extension question

[aikik]

I have a few H1/H4 visa questions and would appreciate your kind advice.

1. I moved to a new employer(H1 to H1) last year. The visa on my passport is valid upto SEP 2010 which was the expiry date of my old H1. My new I-797 is good till JUN 2011. My I-94 stamp expires in SEP 2010. There is an I-94 at the bottom of the new I-797 but there is no timestamp on it as I did not leave the US.

Is it possible for me to get a new I-94 with the extended visa expiry date without travelling abroad? (Such as contacting UCSIS or nearest CBP).

2. My daughter born in India entered US with visa upto JUN 2011, I-94 SEP 2010. There is no I-797 petition document for my daughter(just a visa) as my wife took her for stamping in India. Is it OK to have a dependent kid without an I-797 in his/her name?

What should be our approach - should we make a trip to Mexico just to get our status updated or can this be managed by dealing with UCSIS offices within the US?

Thanks in advance,

aikik

[shervin143]

1. I moved to a new employer(H1 to H1) last year. The visa on my passport is valid upto SEP 2010 which was the expiry date of my old H1. My new I-797 is good till JUN 2011. My I-94 stamp expires in SEP 2010. There is an I-94 at the bottom of the new I-797 but there is no timestamp on it as I did not leave the US.

Is it possible for me to get a new I-94 with the extended visa expiry date without travelling abroad? (Such as contacting UCSIS or nearest CBP).

>>> I am not sure what exactly your question is. What time stamp are you talking about? If your new I-797 has come with a new I-94, then there should be two dates on it. "Valid From" and "Valid Until". You can legally stay in U.S until the "Valid Until" date on the I-94. There is nothing else you need to do.


2. My daughter born in India entered US with visa upto JUN 2011, I-94 SEP 2010. There is no I-797 petition document for my daughter(just a visa) as my wife took her for stamping in India. Is it OK to have a dependent kid without an I-797 in his/her name?

What should be our approach - should we make a trip to Mexico just to get our status updated or can this be managed by dealing with UCSIS offices within the US?

>>> When you are inside U.S, your I-94 decides until when you can legally stay in U.S. As long as your daughter's I-94 is valid, she can stay in U.S. To stay beyond the I-94 expiry date, you should file for the H4 extension at least 3-4 months in advance. When the extension of status is approved by USCIS, she will get a new approval notice with the I-94 attached to it. That I-94 will have a validity until your I-797 expiry date.

There is no need to leave the country. Visa is just an entry document to U.S.

[aikik]

Shervin,
I really appreciate your responses, thank you so much

1. I moved to a new employer(H1 to H1) last year. The visa on my passport is valid upto SEP 2010 which was the expiry date of my old H1. My new I-797 is good till JUN 2011. My I-94 stamp expires in SEP 2010. There is an I-94 at the bottom of the new I-797 but there is no timestamp on it as I did not leave the US.

Is it possible for me to get a new I-94 with the extended visa expiry date without travelling abroad? (Such as contacting UCSIS or nearest CBP).

>>> I am not sure what exactly your question is. What time stamp are you talking about? If your new I-797 has come with a new I-94, then there should be two dates on it. "Valid From" and "Valid Until". You can legally stay in U.S until the "Valid Until" date on the I-94. There is nothing else you need to do.

Thank you! I did find the new I-94 on my I-797 that I had missed earlier. So the problem for me and my wife is solved!


2. My daughter born in India entered US with visa upto JUN 2011, I-94 SEP 2010. There is no I-797 petition document for my daughter(just a visa) as my wife took her for stamping in India. Is it OK to have a dependent kid without an I-797 in his/her name?

What should be our approach - should we make a trip to Mexico just to get our status updated or can this be managed by dealing with UCSIS offices within the US?

>>> When you are inside U.S, your I-94 decides until when you can legally stay in U.S. As long as your daughter's I-94 is valid, she can stay in U.S. To stay beyond the I-94 expiry date, you should file for the H4 extension at least 3-4 months in advance. When the extension of status is approved by USCIS, she will get a new approval notice with the I-94 attached to it. That I-94 will have a validity until your I-797 expiry date.

There is no need to leave the country. Visa is just an entry document to U.S.

Just to inform, my daughter does not have an I-797 of her own, she got her visa on the basis of my wife's I-797 at the American Consulate in India.

At the PoE, since my wife did not carry her new I-797, both of them got the expiry date of the old I-797 on their I-94s. Now to file the I-94 extension for my daughter, should I get this done in person at the San Francisco CBP/INS office(by producing the new I-797) or should I follow the procedures of filing I-539?


Thank you again.
Aikik