TD Visa extension

Xei

New Member
Hi!

My husband is here in the US on TN visa for work. Our kids and I are here as well as his dependents on TD visa. My son’s TD visa however is expiring in a couple of months, Same as the date of expiration of his passport. I have renewed his passport and now thinking to get a new TD visa.

1. Does anyone know if we can get one for him at San Ysidro Pedwest?
2. If yes, can anyone give us an instruction on How to go there? Because I have read a couple of threads saying there’s no need to actually enter mexico but others say you need to before you can go to the cbp office.

Kindly advise. Thanks!
 
1. Yes, it is common for folks with expiring I-94 (due to early passport expiry) to go to PedWest POE in San Ysidro, California and obtain a new I-94 to match the visa/status expiry date. Same situation as your son's TD status. (bring original long form birth certificate, father TN status, etc). The CBP person we talked to was surprised to see people come from far away to update their I-94 at San Ysidro.
2. Park in nearby paid parking lots (or park in nearby outlet mall parking lot and shop at the outlet mall before going to border to avoid parking ticket), then walk to corner of Camino De La Plaza and Virginia Ave (google maps is correct, but google satellite view is out of date as of March 4 2019). Walk south towards Mexico, you pass a bus stop/bus shelters, then as you approach the Ped West facility on your left, you will see a sign "To Mexico", and yes you can walk into Mexico then turn around. or you can do what me and my family did, was just enter the back of the building. You will see a steady stream of people leaving the building (from MX entering the US), to the left there is another door which you can enter and buy I-94 card and get updated stamp. There will be a CBP officer there to answer questions, and to you ensure you are in the correct lineup. There are three lines. One for Sentri pass, one for pre-paid I-94 and one general line for everybody else. The general line is the longest and was over one hour wait for us on a Saturday morning last year (in Feb 2018). I recommend you buy your blank I-94 card online ($6) the day before and bring receipt with you. This way you can go in the shorter line up. Based on my experience no need to actually walk into Mexico.
After your get son's updated TD status, please post your experience on this forum to put this rumor to rest. I also heard the rumor you must walk into Mexico, but it is not necessary. But this event will be recorded in their databases as an entry into the US. So in the future if you are ever asked in person on USCIS form, what is your latest entry into the US, it will be this entry into San Ysidro, CA, POE.
By the way, nothing against Mexico, as I did investigate to have lunch in Mexico with my family, but the main touristy restaurants in Tijuana are in the downtown section and not walking distance from the border. Tijuana is a relatively safe city as long as you stay in main touristy areas and practice common sense (daylight hours). Let us know how it goes....
 
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Thank you so much for your very detailed reply. Just to make it clear, even if we are Canadians, we can still do the I94 at San Ysidro, right? And yes, I will definitely post our experience here. We plan to go this weekend as soon as we confirm everythinng.
 
Thank you so much for your very detailed reply. Just to make it clear, even if we are Canadians, we can still do the I94 at San Ysidro, right? And yes, I will definitely post our experience here. We plan to go this weekend as soon as we confirm everythinng.

Yes, Canadians can process @ San Ysidro
 
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Yes, Canadians can do it any Port of Entry. San Ysidro was closer than the Canadian border for us as we live is Southern California.
It would be great if you could drive to LAX or SNA/John Wayne airport, and meet CBP there, but you have to be arriving from outside the country. (silly rules)
I think that is why people are saying you must walk into Mexico, you must leave the US and then return, to be recorded an an entry into the US. Based on my experience it was not necessary to walk into Mexico, but technically it is recorded as an entry into the USA.
 
Yes I tried calling the CBP office in LAX but they said I need to have a plane ticket to be able to see them inside the airport. They had me contact USCIS instead who suggested that we file Form I-539 to extend my son’s TD visa which will cost us about $375 or so. That was when I started researching about US-Mexico border and thankfully I found your thread. Regarding the application for the new I-94 online that you suggested, do I need to do it for everyone in the family including my husband who is on TN visa? Or just my son who needs to extend his TD visa?
 
Regarding the application for the new I-94 online that you suggested, do I need to do it for everyone in the family including my husband who is on TN visa? Or just my son who needs to extend his TD visa?
I assume you and your husband have the I-94 expiry to match the TN/TD expiry. I understand your son has the earlier I-94 expiry due to his passport expiring sooner. You now have a new passport with new later expiry for him. So you only need to buy I-94 online for him.
https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/apply-document
You can only buy seven days before you arrive at port of entry.
You can still go to Ped West in San Ysidro without buying an I-94 online, but you will be put in "general" lineup. The "prepaid I-94" line up is quicker during busy times. (when I went there was very few people in the prepaid lineup, the general line up was over one hour wait, we arrived around 10am on a Saturday). If you are going on a Saturday morning and want to avoid long lines, arrive early in the morning, say before 8am, before the nearby outlet mall opens. San Ysidro is one of the busiest land border crossings in the world. Lots of Mexican nationals walk over to the outlet malls for shopping. I guess there is better selection and maybe better prices than in Mexico. I think brand name items have higher taxes in Mexico.
 
I just bought my son’s I-94 online. We are driving to San Diego tomorrow and to San Ysidro on Saturday. I have all the documents ready just in case CBP officer needs to confirm my husband’s employment. I will also be updating this thread and posting our experience once it’s done.

Thank you so much for your help!
 
Hello.

Mexican TN here... I got my I-94 a couple of weeks ago at San Ysidro. While I was waiting there was also a Canadian applying for a TN arriving on foot from San Ysidro. The officers denied him entry, made him go into Mexico, ask for TN status at the POE where his passport was to be scanned, then brought back to the I-94 office and granted entry.

'Technically' he wasn't seeking entry as a TN, because he was already in the U.S. therefore he had to leave the country and re-enter.

I hope this information is helpful.
 
Hi @farfan14 thanks for the info!

In our case, the CBP officer asked out to leave and re-enter the US only because my son’s new passport needs to be stamped a new entry date to validate his stay here as well as to extend his TD visa. We did get him an extension for his visa. Paying online for the I-94 was a big help. The line up from Mexico coming into the US was about an hour long.
 
thanks for the update. so there are situations when you technically do have to leave the US. Not a big issue, other than waiting in the line up.
when people post their own experience it makes these forums very helpful.
 
One ALWAYS has to leave US to get an entry/departure record. Doesn't matter if it is a renewal or new. You just may not have realized that you had left.
 
@Amberleaf you’re welcome! That is true, that’s why I felt confident to go to San ysidro because of your earlier thread. Thanks to you too!
 
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