Urgent Advice Needed – Correcting My Family’s I-94 Before 180-Day Deadline

Hello Anil,

I’ve just discovered that the I-94 records issued to my wife and two children at their last entry (July 27 , 2024) expire on December 16 , 2024, even though they each hold:

  • Valid H-4 visas stamped in their passports through December 16 , 2026, and
  • I-797 approval notices that are also valid through December 16 , 2026.

I have already emailed the local CBP Deferred Inspection office requesting that their I-94s be corrected up to the current passport expiration date (July 17 , 2025) while we renew those passports. While waiting for CBP’s reply, I am trying to decide on the most reliable way to secure I-94 validity through the full approval period (December 16 , 2026) and to avoid crossing the 180-day unlawful-presence threshold (approximately June 14 , 2025).

From my research, I see two immediate possibilities:

  1. Renew the passports in Tatkal, then make a brief trip to Canada or Mexico before the 180-day mark to obtain new I-94s upon re-entry. I have roughly two weeks left to pursue this route.
  2. Send my wife and children to India to renew their passports and return on their existing H-4 visas, hoping CBP issues full-term I-94s on re-entry. They are reluctant to travel without me.

Could you please advise:

  • Whether either option is advisable given the overstay that has already accrued?
  • Whether filing an I-539 nunc pro tunc extension with USCIS would be a better strategy?
  • Any additional strategies you would recommend to ensure my family’s status is fully restored before the 180-day limit?

File H4 NPT application with USCIS to request i94 from back date. Or leave US and Get H4 visa stamp with entry ban waiver from US embassy

we got updated with I94’s by CBP office they extended upto old passport expiry dates