Just a Thank You

B

Blue Devil

Registered Users (C)
I had posted for help almost a month ago and my situation was that the Immigration Inspector had stamped the date incorrectly on my I 94 which was according to my old yet valid H1B visa stamp. I was at this point working for another company and my petition had a validity date well into 2003. The incorrectly stamped I 94 was also valid at this point.

Some kind soul on this board (I am sorry cannot remember his/her nick) asked me to go and try to get this rectified at the local INS and my lawyer was quite sceptical about this approach. He wanted me to leave the country and come back in.

Anyway I tried the local INS (it was almost a 12hr process from 4am to 4pm)BUT they issued me a new I 94 with the correct date on it saving me a whole lot of trouble (what with the NIV\'s not being issued at border posts anymore and all of that!). So just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to whoever suggested that! Good luck to everyone here. I am in the final stage of my GC and am as eager as hell to get all of this done with.

My take on it was that the officers at the INS will not cause undue trouble if everything checks out, you have your documents and a plausible reason behind the problem.

Hope this helps anyone out there in a similar situation.
 
No Title

Hi,

I m in the same boat as u were previously.

Can you tell me which Local INS office did u go ?

and, which officer did u speak with, how u represented ur case ?

I will highly appreciate your help.

Thanks in advance.
 
Seach this site for the term "Aytes" and you will have the answer on how to handle this

 
 
Info

I went to the San Jose INS - you do not have a choice of a particular officer - someone will call you. I just told him the truth which was that the date was incorrectly stamped and I took all the documents to back it up (Passport, I 94, I 797 both of them original, employment verification letter etc). He asked me plenty of questions regarding my past employer and student life. Just answer everything as it happened. Finally they did a backgrnd check on me. Thats it, 10mins later I had a new I94.

Hope this helps.
 
No Title

I am in the same situation, I-94 and the H-1B visa stamp in the passport expired on 10/1/2001 (valid at the time I entered the country which was 9/20/2001). I got the new H-1 approval notice (I-797) in May 2000 and the I-94 that came with it I surrendered at the time I left the country (8/01). H-1 approval notice is good till March 2003. I have been to local INS office in Newark, NJ twice with every original document that I have on me but they categorically told me that they cannot amend an I-94 there.

The way it works in Newark is that a common queue leads you to information counters where you tell him/her what you want done. (S)he will listen to you, hopefully, and will then give you an appropriate form to complete and then will tell you to go to such and such room (somewhere in the building). These people on the other side of information counters do not have any authority of any kind i.e. they are not officers. On both occasions, these guys simply won\'t let me proceed - like a broken record \'We cannot amend I-94 here\'.

Blue Devil - which specific department did you go to (INS do have different departments)? What is the system in San Jose i.e. is it any different to what they have in Newark (described above)? Did the officer (or anyone else at INS) take a look at your employment letter? Why they took the whole day (security check ???)? Thnx
 
More Info

I was directed to a waiting room to speak with an Immigration Inspector. I believe that all INS locations have an Immigration Inspector present with similar authority to that of the inspector that inspects you at the port of entry. I had to wait for almost 6 hrs there before they called me. As you said, the officer that receives you is just to direct you to the correct area for processing. They are IIO (Immigration Information Officers). They do not make too many decisions. I guess their job is also to determine whether or not your problem is solvable there or not.

Both my I94 and H1B Visa stamp were valid at the time I went to the INS in San Jose. Also yes, they looked at every possible document, my old I 797, my current I 797, I 94, Employment letter, Drivers License, my student EAD card, I 20....he wanted to know my whole history. If you have a clear case, it should be fine.
 
No Title

Thanks Blue Devil for sharing the info. Its amazing how misinformed people are at INS office in Newark. Yesterday I called up INS national service and the rep (ironically based in CA) told me that I should simply go to local INS office and get it corrected. And the people working at local INS office just won\'t do it.

After how long (from the time it was stamped incorrectly) did you go for correction? The rep couldn\'t tell me if there was a time limit within which it had to be corrected.
 
As long As your current I 94 is Valid

If your current I 94 is valid you should be fine - I realized the problem after quite a long time (> 6months).
 
No Title

I know as long as I-94 is valid its straight forward but in my case I-94 as well as the visa stamp in my passport both has expired.
 
Transfer of H1B and I94 issue

Hi there,

- When I entered in USA, my Visa and H1B were both stamped/valid until July 2002.
- In April I got my new H1B as I had changed my Job. New H1B is valid until June 2003.
- I did not send my papers for restamping here as my attorneys mentioned that it is not needed.

Now I am planning to visit India for couple of months. Say from Jan to March 2002. During this period, can I go to US Embassy in Delhi to get new Visa as per my new H1B? [ I have got to understand that one can revalidate the visa only if less than 60 days are left. ]

If Not, then I shall have Visa stamped as per previous H1B and I shall have new H1B on which I have been working for past 9 months. In this case, what would I have to do to get I94 at port of entry, for until June 2003 (i.e. date on H1B) and not just for upto July 2002.

Your help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
 
if i were you i would send the papers immediately to ins and get it stamped

instead of having it done in india. i had the same situation as yours and after blocking my ticket i sent for stamping, and got promplty within 2 weeks.
 
No Title

What document did you send along with your application for the proof of your travel? I take you only made the booking but had not purchased (and hence no payment was made) the air-ticket when you sent in your application? thnx
 
Venuda, that must have been some time ago

It\'s taking 2-3 months for revalidations now.

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top