L2 visa extension on expired I-797

[vaibhavss]

Hi,
My wife is going for VISA stamping in couple of days. We are confused on following:
My wifes visa expired in Dec-2010, we filed the extension and it got extended up to 2013. My wife is in India, to come back to US she need to get the VISA stamped. She is having her I-797A(extension) till Jan-2013, but my I-797 expired in Dec-2010 my visa is valid till Jan-2013.

I am having valid visa till 2013, valid I-129 S, her I-797A(extension) valid till 2013.

Will there be any problem in her stamping.
Some peoples afraid us saying that my I-797 is expired so wont get the visa. But my VISA is valid till Jan-2013 which I got on the same I-797 in Jan-2010.

Please suggest.

Thanks.
Vaibhav

[abhayg4]

Hi OP,

Please understand the following:

US VISA : which is stamped on the Passport by Consulate is USED just for Entering US. i.e. it should be VALID when you are Entering US.
Once you have entered US - Visa has no USE /NO MEANING

I-94 : This is the main document which governs your stay in US.You can stay in US as long as I-94 is Valid.
I-94 is issued at POE when you are entering US or it comes with I-797 when you file for extesnion/renewal etc.

So first check your I-94 and see if it is VALID , if not then any stay in US after its expiry is ILLEGAL and also I believe that you should have a Valid
I-797 to be authorized to work in US.

Thanks and Regards,
Abhay

[shervin143]

I wonder how you got your visa until 2013 when your petition is valid only till Dec 2010. You need to have a valid petition and I-94 to work in U.S (Like mentioned by abhay, visa is just an entry document). If L1 petition is already expired, then your spouse cannot get her L2 visa stamped (She will need to wait until you get your petition extended). Check the below link for the required documents for L2.

https://www.immihelp.com/usa-visas/l1/l2docs.html

[vaibhavss]

Hi,
Thanks for the quick reply.
Mine is blanket petition and not an individual petition which expired in Dec-2010, I just came back from India yesterday (2-Jan-2013) and got a I-94 upto Jan-2013. When we applied for her extension from US 4 months back we provided my I-797 which was expiring in Dec, still she gor her visa extended upto Jan-2013 upto same date as my visa is valid.


Thanks,
Vaibhav

[rach30]

hi, can i ask what happened in the end? was ur wife allowed in? my visa which is valid till 2014 was applied under company's initial blanket petition which expires in Dec 2011. Company has extended it indefinitely. can i re-enter usa with the old visa and new i797?