E-1 visa expires six months from date of issuance

[Lafayette]

Alien applied for E-1 at Consulate. Visa was issued but instead of two years the visa expires only six months from the issuance date. When alien inquired at the Consulate, an officer told him that this what they do when they issue E-1s but not to worry because he would get two years when he entered the country. Sure enough, he got two years from date of entry on his I-94. My question is what happens if he leaves the country seven months from now and tries to re-enter? Will the office tell him that the visa has expired and bar him from entering?

 

[newacct]

A US visa is only for entry to the US. The visa expiration date is just the last day on which you can use the visa to enter the US. The visa has nothing to do with stay in the US after entry. That is determined by the status, given by the I-94. For E-1, the duration of stay given is usually 2 years. If you leave the US, you no longer have status, and need to use a visa to re-enter the US (with some exceptions like Automatic Revalidation for trips of less than 30 days to Canada or Mexico). If the visa is expired, then they need to get a new visa from a US consulate; they cannot travel to the US without a valid visa. Upon entry, they will be given status by the I-94, as before, with a new duration of stay.