H1B amendment approved until 2017. Current H1B Visa stamp expires Sept2014. Travel?

[Momo Wilson]

Hi everyone, I am hoping someone can provide some input here. My H1b was amended recently and the dates on the I797A are March 2014 -Feb 2017. The stamp that is in my passport expires in September 2014.

My question is can i travel in and out of the US? I plan to travel home to renew the actual stamp in August before the September expiration date, but I didnt know if the amendment dates override what is in my passport?

I hope this makes sense and look forward to advice!

[raghvi]

Hi everyone, I am hoping someone can provide some input here. My H1b was amended recently and the dates on the I797A are March 2014 -Feb 2017. The stamp that is in my passport expires in September 2014.

My question is can i travel in and out of the US? I plan to travel home to renew the actual stamp in August before the September expiration date, but I didnt know if the amendment dates override what is in my passport?

I hope this makes sense and look forward to advice!

Petition and Visa are different things. What the approved extended/amended petition meant was that you can continue to work till the new I-94 date that came attached with the I797A. But in order to freely travel in to US beyond Sep 2014, you would need a new visa in the passport. You can go for fresh visa stamping using the new I797A at a US consulate outside US.

When you leave US in Aug 2014 you should hand over the I-94 attached with the I797A and, if successful in getting new visa stamped, upon re entry to US in Sep 2014, you would be given a newer I-94.

This is my opinion not legal advice.