Expired Passport : Valid Visa

S

siali74

New Member
Hello Everyone,

I have a situation and I would appreciate if any one could help me.
My H1-B has been stamped until June 2004 but my passport got expired last June so I got a new one from New York. My H1B visa is stamped on the expired passport. The visa is good until the end of 2004 and I also have my expired passport attached/stappled with the new one.

So is it ok to travel in such situation? Would appreciate if anyone could share their experiences/knowledge.

thanks
 
siali74,

As far my knowledge goes your valid visa WOULD NOT be cancelled in the old passport. If that is true, you're fine.
There would have been a statement from the embassy that only the passport is cancelled and NOT any valid visas.


While travelling or any reason where you need your passport you need to have both the old and new.


Hope this helps.

sgi
 
I was in the same situation. I travelled outside the country and it was not a problem to get in. Make sure to take your H1B approval notice along with you as well.
 
siali74,

No problem, Just make sure the passports are attached. This happens all the time. As mentioned above carry your H1 approval receipt with you, to show on demand.

Another good thing to do would be to apply for an AP if you haven't already and travel on that, it might be easier.

Good luck!
 
Follow up question

Is having a visa that expires later than passport expiry date valid grounds for refusing entry at POE?

A few months ago, the officer warned me to extend the passport ASAP but let me in anyways at Toronto airport.

I checked the INA regulations and the laws do state that the passport validity needs to be atleast 6 months more than that of the Visa. However, I wanted to get a sense of how strictly this law is enforced. I would think that most people on long term visas like H1B would fall afoul of this law.
 
I was in a similar situation. My valid visa was on a passport that had expired. The new passport had no visa on it. Both the passports were stapled together.

I went out and came back. Port of entry was Los Angeles airport (LAX). I didn't have any problems. This was a couple of years ago. I don't remember the exact date.

Osm
 
Re: Follow up question

lawaiter02,

This is a totally different scenario. In the case stated by you, the passport may not be valid for more than 6 months post expiry of the visa, in which case you would be in the US after your valid travel document i.e. Passport, has expired which will throw you out of status as you can't travel on an expired passport.

In the previous case, there is a new passport attached to the expired passport with a valid visa which is a totally different situation.

Usually for reasons stated above, (and the law), you will be denied entry if your passport is not valid for the duration of stay as stated on the I-94. But in cases of long term visa's like H1, you are expected to extend your passport about 6 months prior to exipiration date.

Originally posted by lawaiter02
Is having a visa that expires later than passport expiry date valid grounds for refusing entry at POE?
Click to expand...
 
It's best to have the visa transferred on the new passport. I've a similar situation, where visa is stamped for 10 years, where passport is valid only for 5 years. I asked this question at the consulate and they advised to have the visa transferred on the new passport.

thanks,
-Rohit
 
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