experts please help- thanks

S

shyamku

Registered Users (C)
confusing question
dear friends,

please help

my 4855 is pending(presently working in SF)

i lost my i797 h1b approval notice with i94(filed by privious employer)

presntly working for the client using AC21(with ead)
i have my valid ap also

questions:
1. can i travel out without surrndering my valid i94?
2.When i comeback is there going to be any problem at the port of entry?
3.after 485 approval, is there any problem in getting my passport stamping at local ins office?

(in both situations)if they ask for the h1b approval what shoul i do?

experts please help

thanks in advance for the help
 
velan1,

you could file for a replacement I-94 (http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-102.htm). However, the matter is slightly complicated with the fact that you are working on EAD now, so your former H-1B status (I-94 stamped with H-1B) is no longer recoverable. Although it is no longer valid per se you could get a replacement just for the sake of surrendering it when leaving the country.

As far as the H-1B approval notice is concerned, you should no longer need it. You will not be stamping any H-1B visa in your passport or entering the States on H-1B visa, so you might as well forget about the approval notice. However, you could get a copy of it as well (http://www.immigration.gov/graphics/howdoi/dupapp.htm).
 
My non-expert opinion (this is not legal advice or anything like it)

Answer 1: I understand you lost the I-94. I think there are ways to get a duplicate I-94 do a search on this. I think this issue has come out before. I don't know what you may need or not need to surrender when traveling.
Answer 2: You have AP and EAD, and already working on the EAD, I think the h1b is now a bit irrelevant. You would need to come back and try to re-enter the country with your AP as the h1b is for your previous employer.
Answer 3: Follow answer 1 for I-94. Anyway, if you travel and come back successfully you'll have a new I-94 so end of this story. If you don't travel try to get a duplicate.

I doubt they'll ask you for the h1b documents at time of entry and even more at time of passport stamping. Your h1b now is a thing of the past.

PS: I have already seen that a true "expert" has given you URL information for completing step 1. I'll still post this message, just because it took me so long to write :)

My 2 cents.
 
thanks a lot for the useful answers

as per your advice i can file form 102 on my own to get my 194.(it should be fine)

but form i824 (to get a duplicate approval notice) sould be filed by my previous employer.(it's not possible)

i going to try my best to avoid travelling abroad till i get my 485 approval

through this forum i came to know that at the time of 485 stamping, ins officers ask us to sureender all our ead,ap and 194 cards.is that true?
can i tell them i lost my i94?but i have my receipt with wac number?is it possible for them to verify if they have any doubts?

sorry for the trouble.
regards
velan
 
Velan,

Don't hyperventilate over this one. You know that things with INS/BCIS can change quickly, but in the past there were some people who informed of being able to get the passport stamped just fine without the I-94.

As for your avoidance of traveling, this is your choice. Definitely, no travel can avoid you any complications with BCIS, but what you say in your case doesn't seem to warrant extraordinary measures. If you need to travel you should be fine as long as you have AP.

Again, this is not legal advice, just a regurgitation of what I think I've read a few times before ;)

My 2 cents.
 
Velan,
I would not worry about the H1, but would try to get a duplicate I-94 just as a back-up. (Just to reassure an INS officer that you were in legal status at the time of filing for I-485, if at all asked). Again, as I said, I would try to get it - but the decision is yours.
 
Velan get duplicate ASAP

One of my friend's friend lost his I-94 just before boarding the flight. Airlines people did not let him to board the flight, he had to come back. I think he filed for duplicate. He was on H1 that time.
 
Apply for duplicate...

Velan

I was in your situation 3 years back. I lost the H1 approval notice. You need to apply for a duplicate, and it takes 1.5 years to get it (at that time) the processing at CSC was pathetic. I believe it has improved a lot now for this approval as this is a different department altogether. The form is O-824 of somthing like that. Your lawyer will know. I had to go to INS and contact local congressman etc. I got it in 2 months, which my lawyer could not believe himself.

If you are AC 21, using EAD, you do not need your H1. Keep applying for EAD renewals and AP renewals again and again.

hope this helps.
 
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