Travel Back To US with Old H1B Stamp And New Approval

Hello Saurabh,

I have a quick question on the I-94 validity.

Ok I have recently travelled to my home country and have re-entered US on my old valid H1b (issued by Company A). Currently I am working for Company B and have a valid I797 to back it up.

My question is, at the port of entry when I produced my current I797 (issued by Company B), the immigration officer declined to use the dates on I797 for the newly issued I-94 effective date. Instead she used the dates as on the VISA (issued for Company B).

This is what the Immigration Officer had to say when I expressed my concerns.

" - I-94 does no longer exist as a hard copy attachment, it can be downloaded from the relevant website.

  • The date she is providing on the I-94 will not impact my stay beyond that (my stay is valid till the effective date on my I797 by Company B)

  • Since I have a new I797, the dates she is putting on the I94 should not matter, since my latest I797 (by Company B) supersedes that date"

My concern is, since the latest I-94 (soft copy) generated at the post of entry has an expiry date (Jan 2015) lesser than what I have on my current I797 approval (Jul 2016) from Company B, is my stay at jeopardy after Jan 2015? The immigration officer said otherwise, but I thought it safer to get it verified from you.

Even in the past your valuable inputs have helped me immensely. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks and Regards

Hi,

Can someone please provide a response to my queries above.

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

Regards

You are good till your I797 is valid. But if you will plan to travel out of country after Jan 2005 you will have to go for stamping.

hey thanks a ton for your response…