My spouse’s H4 visa, along with the I-539 extension, was approved from June 2023 to June 2026. We traveled to India in Nov 2023. When re-entering the U.S., the CBP officer shortened her I-94 to Feb 2025 (passport expiry date). We didn’t check online at that time.
Recently, while preparing for another extension, I realized that the CBP-issued I-94 overrides the I-539 I-94 date, which means my wife has technically been out of status for close to 240 days.
Looking for the best option:
Try crossing the land border to Mexico/Canada and hope CBP will issue a new I-94.
Travel back to India, get new stamping, and disclose the overstay in DS-160.
Thanks a lot for your advice. We came to know about this issue on September 29, 2025. Fortunately, we were able to get a visa appointment on October 14.
A couple of quick questions — should we mention the realization date (Sept 29) in the DS-160? Also, would it help to carry the attorney’s email explaining how this lapse happened?
For context, my wife was working in the U.S. on H-4 EAD until September 30, 2025, and she departed the U.S. on October 4, 2025.
What are the chances of visa approval in this situation?
@anil_am22 … I am nervous about Consular appointment next week. Is it possible to try to cross land border/ or enter at airport first as she valid visa ? What are chances of denial by CBP. What your experience says ?
My spouse’s visa validity date at port of entry was shortened by a year in both passport and online I-94 last year. This was an error at their end, and we were able to fix this later this year by requesting I-94 correction. During the correction process, we were told that online I-94 date should be the final one and they don’t use the one on passport. We later traveled to Canada on a short vacation and entered back without issues. I think your situation looks very similar.
