Gurus...Need Help ASAP on H1 issue

A

avvaru

Registered Users (C)
I am not sure if I can post this issue here but I am desperate..I changed from Company A to B in 2001 Sept on H1 transfer. I went to India in Oct 2001 and returned in Nov 2001. My Visa was on Company A when I went to India so by mistake I gave my old H1(Company A) which was also valid till May 2003 for my I-94. My I-94 was stamped by the INS officer accordingly till may 2003. Now my H1 with Company B is expiring on march 2004. I sent all my docs for the H1 extension and the attorney says since my I-94 expired in May 2003, I am out of status since then.. Is this true.. guys let me know what options I have now.. If you need more information I can provide.. Thanks in advance..
 
These are my thoughts. Don't want to scare you.

The date on I-94 determines till what date you are eligible to stay in US. It's your responsibility to check the date on I-94 at Port of Entry. Not sure why didn't you notice. As you do not have any other I-94, I feel you are out of status.

Remember is they find out, staying illegally more than six months, they can bar you from entering into US for 3 years. If it is more than a year, 10 years bar will apply.

Take opinion from good lawyer.
 
z/OS V1.4

Thank you very much for the quick response.. But I do have a valid H1 with company B till this March 2004.. Does not it mean that my status is legal?? please let me know..

Thanks
 
Originally posted by avvaru
z/OS V1.4

Thank you very much for the quick response.. But I do have a valid H1 with company B till this March 2004.. Does not it mean that my status is legal?? please let me know..

Thanks
Click to expand...

nope. The date on the I94 is the one which counts. If you send it all in with an explanation, they may well be nice to you, or they may not.

Let that be a cautionary tale, one of my I94s ended up with the wrong date on it when I came through once and I had to apply for my H1 extension 4 months early. This time in, the immigration officer put the wrong year (2004 instead of 2005) for expiry. While waiting an hour for my wife to clear immigration (she came in on Advance Parole, it takes a while) I noticed it, found the guy and he changed it for me.
 
avvaru
if your new H1 from company B having i-94 info in the bottom of form then it will fine
no need to worry you can show this to your lawyer
 
Originally posted by avvaru
I am not sure if I can post this issue here but I am desperate..I changed from Company A to B in 2001 Sept on H1 transfer. I went to India in Oct 2001 and returned in Nov 2001. My Visa was on Company A when I went to India so by mistake I gave my old H1(Company A) which was also valid till May 2003 for my I-94. My I-94 was stamped by the INS officer accordingly till may 2003. Now my H1 with Company B is expiring on march 2004. I sent all my docs for the H1 extension and the attorney says since my I-94 expired in May 2003, I am out of status since then.. Is this true.. guys let me know what options I have now.. If you need more information I can provide.. Thanks in advance..
Click to expand...

Expired I-94 is not a big deal, if you have a new H1 approved with new I-94. When a new h1 is issued, it comes with a I-94 at the bottom of it. The date on it will be the date when you have worry about. But in your case you might have handed the I-94 you received with the new H1(company B) when you left the country. Even if you haven't handed over the I-94 that you receive with company B's H1, the latest I-94 is the one which is important, i guess, because it was issued at a later date. If your h1 got approved after you came back from India then the I-94 on your h1 is valid.

This is my openion. Talk to couple of attorneys'
Good Luck.
 
I think aks99 is right....
I also have an expired I-94 in my pasport..But my new h1 renewal as the new new 1-94 attached at the bottom with the new expiry date...But offcourse i was in the country when i renewed by H1....so check your new renewed h1 and the exiprydate on that ...just my 2 cents
 
one more twist -- what if I had already applied for 485 and 140

Hi Guys,

I am also in the same boat with some extra twist..

Moved from company A to B in last year. Got new approval for H1 till apr 2006. visa stamping was till jun-2004. went to India in jan and while returning got I94 till june-2004.

In the meantime applied for 140 and 485 in nov-2003. Also applied for ead in jan-2004. I hope that there won't be any RFE in the EAD. If I get RFE in EAD, Then what would happen after jun-2004 !!!

Gurus, please help..

Regards,
 
No need to worry

You are legal as long as you have a valid visa. The I-94 on the passport might say any date but your H1 papers determine the legality. However, it's the visa on your passport that'll let you in the country if you happen to go abroad.
So you might have to re-validate your visa on your passport.
 
I -94 given by INS officer at POA is final and it nullifies the other I-94.Best way is to go out of country and enter with new H1

Other way is to apply for correction of I-94 with sending your New H1
 
If you got this new I-94 after the I-94 that you got at POE, then the new date mentioned on new I-94 indicates the date till you can stay legally in US. Use that I-94 for new H1 extension or renewal, apply before the date that shown on the new I-94.

Why you want to use the old I-94 then?
 
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