Want to leave US with Expired H1B Stamp but valid I-94 & I-797

O

orazone

Registered Users (C)
I am leaving US for Canada. I recently got immigrant visa for Canada. I just called US immigration at NY Canada border and told him i have expired H1B stamp and valid H1 Petition with I-94 valid until 2007 and he said , if you have expired H1B Stamp then what are you doing in US ? I told him you dont need to have valid stamp for stay . Its only required for entry and he said 'you are mixing up the things'.

Although my H1B on passport also has stamp 'Cancelled without Prejudice' but I
believe I-797 + I-94 is all that maintains your status . It was put on H1 Stamp when i sent my passport to St Loius office for re-validation.

Any idea what could be the worse case scenario. In your opinion will they allow me to leave US without creating any problem for me ??
 
Last edited by a moderator:
orazone said:
I am leaving US for Canada. I recently got immigrant visa for Canada. I just called US immigration at NY Canada border and told him i have expired H1B stamp and valid H1 Petition with I-94 valid until 2007 and he said , if you have expired H1B Stamp then what are you doing in US ? I told him you dont need to have valid stamp for stay . Its only required for entry and he said 'you are mixing up the things'.

Although my H1B on passport also has stamp 'Cancelled without Prejudice' but I
believe I-797 + I-94 is all that maintains your status . It was put on H1 Stamp when i sent my passport to St Loius office for re-validation.

Any idea what could be the worse case scenario. In your opinion will they allow me to leave US without creating any problem for me ??
Click to expand...
You can go out. If you want to come back, you have to get your H1 visa stamped in your pp. Are you having all the papers to do so?
 
orazone said:
I am leaving US for Canada. I recently got immigrant visa for Canada.
I just called US immigration at NY Canada border and told him i have expired H1B stamp and valid H1 Petition with I-94 valid until 2007 and he said , if you have expired H1B Stamp then what are you doing in US ?
----------- you should have told him that you are working becasuse you have Valid I-94 and Visa stamp is just needed for Entry to US,
I told him you dont need to have valid stamp for stay . Its only required for entry and he said 'you are mixing up the things'.
---------------- He/she was mixing up and did not know what he/she was saying
Although my H1B on passport also has stamp 'Cancelled without Prejudice' but I
believe I-797 + I-94 is all that maintains your status .
------------ correct
It was put on H1 Stamp when i sent my passport to St Loius office for re-validation.

Any idea what could be the worse case scenario. In your opinion will they allow me to leave US without creating any problem for me ??
Click to expand...

--------- if you have valid I-94 then dont give it to Canada immigration when you enter Canadaby border (they dont need it) or to Airline when take flight from US to Canada, fligh to Canada is domestic flight. you CAN enter US with valid I-94 if you DONT apply Visa stamp in Canada or Mexico and your visit is less than 30 days and that is called "AUTOMATIC VISA REVALIDATION"( search the Department of state site and take the printout) .
 
Automatic revalidation option is only available if you have expired visa and a valid I-94. I dont think its applicable in my case, i have expired visa with 'Cancelled without prejudice' stamp and valid I-94. I will have no other choice but to surrender I-94 to US Immigration authorities and go to US embassy in Canada and try to get new H1 stamped on my passport. 'Expired' and 'Cancelled' are not the same thing and i seriously doubt US immigration will let me in.


ginnu said:
--------- if you have valid I-94 then dont give it to Canada immigration when you enter Canadaby border (they dont need it) or to Airline when take flight from US to Canada, fligh to Canada is domestic flight. you CAN enter US with valid I-94 if you DONT apply Visa stamp in Canada or Mexico and your visit is less than 30 days and that is called "AUTOMATIC VISA REVALIDATION"( search the Department of state site and take the printout) .
Click to expand...
 
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orazone said:
Automatic revalidation option is only available if you have expired visa and a valid I-94. I dont think its applicable in my case, i have expired visa with 'Cancelled without prejudice' stamp and valid I-94. I will have no other choice but to surrender I-94 to US Immigration authorities and go to US embassy in Canada and try to get new H1 stamped on my passport. 'Expired' and 'Cancelled' are not the same thing and i seriously doubt US immigration will let me in.
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I also have the same scenerio,but based on my investigation, you still qualify for 30 day validation rule.

30 days validation rule is not applicable if you apply for visa in Canada, but if you don't apply for visa, you can come back easily. One more thing that you can do is that to make sure on border that you can come back.

Please keep us updated.
 
Malik ,
Would you like to share your investigation with me. State department rules clearly say it has to be expired visa. I have'nt taken an appointment yet but if i dont take it and cross border then there will be very little chance of me getting back. Almost zero chance. I will appreciate if you provide me more info.
So far feedback from experts is telling me , US Immigration will only look at I-94 if you have an expired visa (not cancelled).


maliklongwait said:
I also have the same scenerio,but based on my investigation, you still qualify for 30 day validation rule.

30 days validation rule is not applicable if you apply for visa in Canada, but if you don't apply for visa, you can come back easily. One more thing that you can do is that to make sure on border that you can come back.

Please keep us updated.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
orazone said:
Malik ,
Would you like to share your investigation with me. State department rules clearly say it has to be expired visa. I have'nt taken an appointment yet but if i dont take it and cross border then there will be very little chance of me getting back. Almost zero chance. I will appreciate if you provide me more info.
So far feedback from experts is telling me , US Immigration will only look at I-94 if you have an expired visa (not cancelled).
Click to expand...

Hi,

I just called at
Rainbow Bridge Port of Entry
(716) 282-3141, ext. 323 and confirmed that I can come back without any problem as long as I have following while I am coming back.

1. Valid Passport

2. Valid I-94

He also mentioned that make sure, not to return your I-94 to Canadian officials ,otherwise, you have to get visa to come back.


Thanks
Rafique
 
I am going to do that tomorrow but they only look at your I-94 if you have an expired visa. In my case i did send passport for revalidation within US and it was sent back to me with 'Cancelled without prejudice' stamp. You can only re-validate an expired visa not a cancelled one . There is a very clear distinction. I did search the state department. It does mention the word Expired very clearly and expired and cancelled are not the same thing. In the absense of expired visa, the I-94 is worthless. Still if you dont want to return it , its up to you. Doing so will create problems for you when you try to enter the country next time.

PS: My last name is also rafique :)
 
orazone said:
I am going to do that tomorrow but they only look at your I-94 if you have an expired visa. In my case i did send passport for revalidation within US and it was sent back to me with 'Cancelled without prejudice' stamp. You can only re-validate an expired visa not a cancelled one . There is a very clear distinction. I did search the state department. It does mention the word Expired very clearly and expired and cancelled are not the same thing. In the absense of expired visa, the I-94 is worthless. Still if you dont want to return it , its up to you. Doing so will create problems for you when you try to enter the country next time.

PS: My last name is also rafique :)
Click to expand...

Thanks Rafique.

Can we discuss this offline. Here is my email address. Please send me an email and your contact information and I will call you to discuss this if you don't mind.

rafique.awan@gmail.com
 
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