Applying for EAD when passport expires in 9 months

[Krishnakumar Srinivas]

Hi All --

If a L2 visa holder's paasport is expiring in about 9 months (i94 has this date), is it a best idea to apply for EAD? I read through couple forums and learnt that EAD will be given based on i94 expiry. Please note that the visa itself is valid for another 3 years.
Could you please advice?
If EAD gets expired when the passport expires, then it might be good to renew the passport and apply for it.

Thanks for your help!

[raghvi]

Hi All --

If a L2 visa holder's paasport is expiring in about 9 months (i94 has this date), is it a best idea to apply for EAD? I read through couple forums and learnt that EAD will be given based on i94 expiry. Please note that the visa itself is valid for another 3 years.
Could you please advice?
If EAD gets expired when the passport expires, then it might be good to renew the passport and apply for it.

Thanks for your help!

Yes, if you apply for EAD now, you would get it only till I-94 expiry.

If you renew the passport and apply for I-94 extension and EAD together it could take upto 9- 12 Months (6 Weeks for passport renewal, 4-6 Months for I-94 extension and potentially another 90+ days for EAD0.

Fastest would be to get passport renewed under tatkaal, leave US, re enter on new passport and old visa to get I-94 till visa validity date and then apply for EAD after returning. This is doable in 3-4 Months.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[Krishnakumar Srinivas]

Yes, if you apply for EAD now, you would get it only till I-94 expiry.

If you renew the passport and apply for I-94 extension and EAD together it could take upto 9- 12 Months (6 Weeks for passport renewal, 4-6 Months for I-94 extension and potentially another 90+ days for EAD0.

Fastest would be to get passport renewed under tatkaal, leave US, re enter on new passport and old visa to get I-94 till visa validity date and then apply for EAD after returning. This is doable in 3-4 Months.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thank you Raghavi for your quick response!

Could you please let me know how i-94 can be extended staying in the US? Is it through applying i-539 in USCIS? Can it be filed individually or should it be through L1-employer? Your other option of leaving US & returning looks feasible, and may be I should try that. What countries do you suggest for a west-coast resident? Mexico or Canada?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[raghvi]

Thank you Raghavi for your quick response!

Could you please let me know how i-94 can be extended staying in the US? Is it through applying i-539 in USCIS? Can it be filed individually or should it be through L1-employer? Your other option of leaving US & returning looks feasible, and may be I should try that. What countries do you suggest for a west-coast resident? Mexico or Canada?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I-94 can be renewed while in US using form I539. You can do it on your own as long as primary L1 visa, I797, I129S is valid. But as I said it can take 4-6 Months for dependent visa holders such as L2/H4.

As for Canada/Mexico, it does not matter. I dont know if they renew the I-94 for a short trip or not.

This is my opinion not legal advice.