Experience : I-94 update for H1B (Amendment + Extension ) with Daily commute on AVR

[shri.ca]

My H1B (Amendment + Extension) was approved recently till April 2024. I commute daily on AVR to Detroit on Indian passport.
I was issued paper I-94 during secondary inspection.

However, a day later when I entered US, my older I-94 number and previous expiration date was shown online. I checked with CBP officer during Port of Entry (PoE), is there something wrong, why my new I-94 # is not showing up online. Officer told that both I-94 records are active in the system and there is no reason to worry, he then selected the latest one. When I checked online, my new I-94 number and latest expiration date were shown.

I wanted to share with forum and check if anybody had similar experience.

 

[harirajmohan]

My H1B (Amendment + Extension) was approved recently till April 2024. I commute daily on AVR to Detroit on Indian passport.
I was issued paper I-94 during secondary inspection.

However, a day later when I entered US, my older I-94 number and previous expiration date was shown online. I checked with CBP officer during Port of Entry (PoE), is there something wrong, why my new I-94 # is not showing up online. Officer told that both I-94 records are active in the system and there is no reason to worry, he then selected the latest one. When I checked online, my new I-94 number and latest expiration date were shown.

I wanted to share with forum and check if anybody had similar experience.

Some officers might activate the older too. Dont worry as long as it has validity(and not expired). Closer to expiry date tell that your I94 is getting expired and get new one at that time.

 

[swan0206]

My H1B (Amendment + Extension) was approved recently till April 2024. I commute daily on AVR to Detroit on Indian passport.
I was issued paper I-94 during secondary inspection.

However, a day later when I entered US, my older I-94 number and previous expiration date was shown online. I checked with CBP officer during Port of Entry (PoE), is there something wrong, why my new I-94 # is not showing up online. Officer told that both I-94 records are active in the system and there is no reason to worry, he then selected the latest one. When I checked online, my new I-94 number and latest expiration date were shown.

I wanted to share with forum and check if anybody had similar experience.

Hi,
Few questions on your amendment:

1)Are you on Canadian payroll?
2)Were you inside the country while applying for amendment and till it was approved?
3)How long did it take for your approval and were you commuting all those days during your amendment was in process.

thanks.

 

[shri.ca]

Hi,
Few questions on your amendment:

1)Are you on Canadian payroll?
2)Were you inside the country while applying for amendment and till it was approved?
3)How long did it take for your approval and were you commuting all those days during your amendment was in process.

thanks.

1)Nope
2)No I stayed first 2 days until I got receipt notice, after that I was commuting
3)It was filed in Premium, so got in 10 business days

 

[swan0206]

1)Nope
2)No I stayed first 2 days until I got receipt notice, after that I was commuting
3)It was filed in Premium, so got in 10 business days

Thanks for your response.

Thats good to hear. So while it was under process you have used your existing i797A which was still valid . is that right?? and when you have received your new i797 you gave them both the i797s during the entry ?

 

[shri.ca]

Thanks for your response.

Thats good to hear. So while it was under process you have used your existing i797A which was still valid . is that right?? and when you have received your new i797 you gave them both the i797s during the entry ?

yes thats correct.

 

[lostrocked]

How are the taxes paid?

 

[swan0206]

1)Nope
2)No I stayed first 2 days until I got receipt notice, after that I was commuting
3)It was filed in Premium, so got in 10 business days

Hi,
After getting the receipt notice, we leave US and then while we are in Canada, we get an RFE, can we still keep commuting? Any idea on this. Even i have filed it in premium and just trying to know the scenario what if we get an RFE.

Thanks.

 

[shri.ca]

Hi,
After getting the receipt notice, we leave US and then while we are in Canada, we get an RFE, can we still keep commuting? Any idea on this. Even i have filed it in premium and just trying to know the scenario what if we get an RFE.

Thanks.

I am assuming your initial I-94 is still valid while your H1B extension is pending decision. Even if you get RFE, it should not matter as you are commuting on existing unexpired I-94. The difficulty will arise if initial i-94 expires and you are working on H1B during 240 day grace period on extension receipt notice. Commuting will not be possible under such circumstances.

 

[swan0206]

I am assuming your initial I-94 is still valid while your H1B extension is pending decision. Even if you get RFE, it should not matter as you are commuting on existing unexpired I-94. The difficulty will arise if initial i-94 expires and you are working on H1B during 240 day grace period on extension receipt notice. Commuting will not be possible under such circumstances.

Yes, thats true. My i94 is still valid till next year. Thanks for the clarity. Sounds good.

bdw, if i may ask. How frequently do you commute? And once the amendment is approved it takes a while to get the new i797 to us right probably 7-10 business days? If we wanna travel in between this period still we can use the old i797? Wouldnt the border officers have an update at their end that theres a new petition approved for us?

 

[shri.ca]

Yes, thats true. My i94 is still valid till next year. Thanks for the clarity. Sounds good.

bdw, if i may ask. How frequently do you commute? And once the amendment is approved it takes a while to get the new i797 to us right probably 7-10 business days? If we wanna travel in between this period still we can use the old i797? Wouldnt the border officers have an update at their end that theres a new petition approved for us?

That is right, if you use old I-94 to commute during the period (new I-797 is issued and you receiving it), your I-94 will be reverted to old validity due to border crossing. After receiving new I-797, you should show it to officer and ask to update I-94. They will ask you to go for secondary inspection and manually update I-94 (your bottom I-94 portion of I-797 will be stapled to passport) to match new I-797 validity. For future crossings, this new I-94 will be reflected in the system.

 

[swan0206]

That is right, if you use old I-94 to commute during the period (new I-797 is issued and you receiving it), your I-94 will be reverted to old validity due to border crossing. After receiving new I-797, you should show it to officer and ask to update I-94. They will ask you to go for secondary inspection and manually update I-94 (your bottom I-94 portion of I-797 will be stapled to passport) to match new I-797 validity. For future crossings, this new I-94 will be reflected in the system.

Sounds perfect. Was concerned that border officers might have an update at their end and as soon as its approved and might raise a question how are you outside when you have a petition in progress. Thanks for clearing that out as well

 

[swan0206]

That is right, if you use old I-94 to commute during the period (new I-797 is issued and you receiving it), your I-94 will be reverted to old validity due to border crossing. After receiving new I-797, you should show it to officer and ask to update I-94. They will ask you to go for secondary inspection and manually update I-94 (your bottom I-94 portion of I-797 will be stapled to passport) to match new I-797 validity. For future crossings, this new I-94 will be reflected in the system.

Hey,

Did your i94 number changed on the Amended i797? seems like i got the same i94 on amended one as well. Even though we have same i94 number, do we still need to update it at the border once we are trying to re-enter border with newi797? please let me know.

Ps: i have got the same validity as before. I mean my old i797 has the same validity as the new one. Haven't received new i797 though, email from employer shows same validity date as old one.

 

[shri.ca]

Hey,

Did your i94 number changed on the Amended i797? seems like i got the same i94 on amended one as well. Even though we have same i94 number, do we still need to update it at the border once we are trying to re-enter border with newi797? please let me know.

Ps: i have got the same validity as before. I mean my old i797 has the same validity as the new one. Haven't received new i797 though, email from employer shows same validity date as old one.

My I-94 number did not change. I believe your employer submitted an Amendment application with USCIS. If validity period and I-94 number are same, there is no need to ask CBP to update anything.

In my case my new I-94 had new validity, hence I went for secondary inspection and got my I-94 updated.

 

[swan0206]

My I-94 number did not change. I believe your employer submitted an Amendment application with USCIS. If validity period and I-94 number are same, there is no need to ask CBP to update anything.

In my case my new I-94 had new validity, hence I went for secondary inspection and got my I-94 updated.

Thats interesting! Do we get new validity dates when we go for amendment? Generally it should be same as Old one right? If we go for Amendment+extension we get a new validity dates. Anyways lets see what i have on new i94. Haven’t received physical copy yet but the email shows same validity as before!

ps:If i797 dates are totally different than i94 then i think i would even get new dates as well. Can i please know what i94 dates you got after amendment? Is it 3years from now?