How to deal the situation with Passport,Visa ,I94 expired but have valid I797?

Hi ,

I recently travelled to India in Dec-2019 ,CBP stamped i94 with admit date as per my old i94(valid until feb 2020) but not provided i94 date neither based on passport expiry date(June-2020) nor based on new i-94 (valid until september 2022) at the port of entry.And my visa expiry date was Feb-2020 as i did not attend visa interview with new i797 (valid until september 2022).

Actually,I traveled to get married and returned with my spouse(H4 Visa) and she got the correct i94 dates(valid until Sep 2022).

I have sent my passport for renewal on July -2nd and I have just understood that the most recent i-94 determines the valid stay and i’m in a panic situation now…

1)Can you please help me with the best solution to fix my i94 dates so that i will not lose my legal stay.

2)Although my wife was provided with i94 dates by CBP as per my new i94(valid until Sep-2022).Does my i94 expiry issue impact her visa(H4-EAD) as well?If yes,can you please help me with the way to fix it.

Thank you.

Your current status should be ‘out of status’ if you don’t have a valid i94 at this time.

Talk to an attorney and file your H1B extension with NPT option.

Thanks for reply !!
In my case,I visited one of the port of entry office of US-Canada border to request for i94 extension(expired in June2020) after passport renewal .Officer has suggested that he can issue new i94 if i make quick round trip by entering the canada port of entry and return back quickly.Officer mentioned that due to pandemic situation he can allow me back to USA only based on valid i797(with i-94expiration date in Sept-2022) although my USA visa expired.So,he issued new i94 after following the steps.

Can you please confirm if this is the same as the Automatic Visa Re-validation process?Or this is something rare happening?

Also,do you foresee any issues because of this when i travel next time for visa stamping etc?

Hi Ss1122,
I need to travel out of USA to get my I94 renewed as well. Can you please let me know the following

  1. Which port of entry did you chose on Canadian side?
  2. Did you have a Canadian visa to go there ?
  3. Was it during the pandemic when the US-CA border has been closed for several months.
  4. Did you have any problems crossing into CA or coming back in ?
  5. Did you drive or fly ?

It would be very helpful for my situation if you’re able to reply quickly

Hi ss1122,
Thanks for the response.
I just called them and need some more finer details . Could you please share your contact number or contact me on +1 267 472 5643 ?