My husband has 10 days extra on his I94. If I extend it on the basis of that, Is it possible to work till then per 180 day extension rule while waiting for approval notice? Once I get it I can extend it again?
Do we need to file h4 extension if i get h4 i94 extension based on h1b extension approval?
No you don’t until within 180 days of your I-94 expiry.
Hello Bogendra,
Can you please call me, I have a similar situation. My number is four one four three six eight seven seven eight zero.
Thanks
Hi Akshay,
My husband’s H1 B and my H4 Visa and I94 are expiring on April 29th 2022. Recently, my husband got a H1B extension till 2025 couple of days back. We have applied for H4 extension and H4 EAD as well along with h1 extension, we got the receipt number but it is not approved yet. So, we are planning to extend I94 with new I797( husband’s H1 B document) by visiting the CBP office Border at Laredo around end of march. My question here is can my husband cross the border along with me? He has stamping till April 29th 2022 but doesn’t have stamping for newly approved H1B . If he crossing and coming back with me is risky, is there a way I can go down to the CBP crossing border alone (I don’t drive). Any suggestions please.
You can cross over alone or together, should be no issue. However make sure you carry all H4 and H1B related documents.
https://www.am22tech.com/usa/news/h4-l2-ead-auto-extension-uscis-policy-change/
Hi, as kalpesh mentioned, either ( going together or alone) is fine.
We actually consulted attorney n they had suggested it’s safer to go together.
Btw mine is exact same stamping n approval status as your husband’s. For H1 holder they didn’t change anything (no i94 update or even entry stamp on pp). It’s as if I was never there.
Hope this helps.
Hi
We were also in the same position, my H1 got extended till 2025, my husband’s H4 was valid till Mar 2022. We crossed the border at san ysidro port of entry in san diego together with my H1 I797A and got his i94 updated to 2025. Luckily his H4 was approved but we did not get the I797A with i94 attached, so we took H4 I797C and marriage certificate.
**** Need to get I94 extended at port of entry so that I can apply for H4 EAD ********
Last month my husband’s H1b got extended and we received new I797 (dated from Mid May 2022 to Mid May 2025)
Last week I travelled alone to Canada for extension of my I-94 (right now I-94 is till May).
While coming back to US at port of entry, first thing officer said that she is unable to update my I-94 in the system because my husband’s stamp is not updated according to new I797 and then she said I can use this new I797 only ten days before the validity period ( Does anyone know if this 10 days validity period rule is true ?)
We are planning to travel Canada together this time and see if our I 94 get extended at port of entry.
My question is if we travel to Canada then does 10 days rule still applies or officer will update our I-94 according to new I797?
I am not aware on the 10 day rule, never heard of that. Canada CBP is a bit sketchy depending on the officer’s knowledge and experience with I-94 extension.
https://www.am22tech.com/usa/news/h4-l2-ead-auto-extension-uscis-policy-change/#expired-h4
Also below real experiences by some forum users may help you.
Hello,
Has anyone recently done i94 extension at San ysidro border?
I94, H4 Visa and H4 EAD expiring on 1st May. I Have my husband’s approved H1 i797 valid until 2025. H4 extension in process since dec 2021. Can I94 extension be done at San Ysidro border so that I can get auto extension for EAD?
Thanks,
Devi.
Hi Kalpesh, Thanks for reply!
UPDATE
My husband and I went to Canada and while coming back our i94 was extended for another 3 years.
Our new petition has dates May 2022 to May 2025, but our I94 dates were extended till March 2025 because officer cannot extend more than 3 years.
10 day rule is if you are traveling 10 days before validity period then officer can grant you visa till your petition date.
Got it, thanks for sharing your experience.
Hi Siva,
We tried to get the I94 extension for H4 based on the H1 approval last weekend. But, it did not work. It depends on the CBP officer at that time. In our case, some of the officers agreed that it can be done while others were indecisive. Eventually, they checked with the supervisor and didn’t do it. The attorneys also said that its a 50-50 chance at land borders, specially at San Ysidro.
- Sri
Thanks for sharing Sri. So the only option is go for stamping at Mexico.
Hi…Can you tell if you travelled by land or air? Also which border?
Do you know if pending H4 and H4 EAD applications will get affected by this I94 extension.
Thank you.
@psethi Hello Priya, do you mind sharing some more information such as which Canada border did you go or did you fly to Canada?
Also did you travel within 10 days of your current H1/H4 validity end date? Since you have mentioned that your current H4 is due to expire mid may 2022 - I am assuming you travelled to Canada outside of the 10 days period from when your husband’s H1 extension is supposed to go into effect?
Also, did you file form I-539 (H4 extension) to USCIS before traveling to Canada? I am curious if the CBP officers ask for I-539 receipt (showing that it is filed and pending with USCIS)?
Thank you.
My husband and I went to Toronto for 2 days and came back via Sarnia Blue Water Bridge Port of Entry, Officer asked us questions like
Q1: Why did you go to Canada
A1: We went to meet our friends
Q2: For how many days you were in Canada
A2: 2 days
First thing officer said us that she cannot update our I94 dates according to this new petition because of 10 days rule, by this statement she actually meant that she can give us I94 till March 2025 due to 3 years limitation.
No, we didn’t travel within 10 days of current validity end date, our new I797 petition has dates 22 May 2022 to May 2025, but we travelled in the March.
As we didn’t travel in 10 days window, we got our I-94 extended till March 2025 which makes sense because officer can not give you visa for more than 3 years from current date.
I didn’t file I-539 form before traveling to Canada, they don’t ask for I-539 receipt.
@psethi Thank you very much for the detailed response. Just one more question - did you both specifically ask the CBP officer to extend the i94 date till 2025 or the officer told you from her side without asking?
Mainly because if we do not specify that we are trying to get i94 extended, they might as well just put the same i94 date of 2022.
I and my wife are in very similar situation, with only difference being that our dates are in July 2022 to July 2025.
Thank you once again.
We simply asked officer to extend our I-94 according to new petition. We only gave new I-797 to officer.