I94 on new 797

[abhas5101]

Hi,

My wife will be travelling to india in august and returning back in september 2016 due to some medical emergency .
Our i94 and visa are valid till feb 17,2017 , i got a new job last week and the company is applying for my h1b in premium processing .

I have couple of questions here
1. When she comes back she will obviously be given i94 till feb17.2017 - does she need to go out after feb 17 and come back again ?
2. If i get my approval notice from my new employer , can she use the new i797 at the port of entry to get i94 matched to the new 797 date ?
3. If she is plannign to use the new 797 ,does she need to go for stamping again since its a new employer ?

Pls advice aeap .

Thanks,

[raghvi]

Hi,

My wife will be travelling to india in august and returning back in september 2016 due to some medical emergency .
Our i94 and visa are valid till feb 17,2017 , i got a new job last week and the company is applying for my h1b in premium processing .

I have couple of questions here
1. When she comes back she will obviously be given i94 till feb17.2017 - does she need to go out after feb 17 and come back again ?
2. If i get my approval notice from my new employer , can she use the new i797 at the port of entry to get i94 matched to the new 797 date ?
3. If she is plannign to use the new 797 ,does she need to go for stamping again since its a new employer ?

Pls advice aeap .

Thanks,

Visa validity, Petition validity, and I094 validity are three different things and serve different purposes.

1. A valid visa is required to board the plane to US. So , after Feb 17, 2017, your spouse needs to first get a new Visa stamped in her passport in order to be allowed into US. She can do that by going to a consulate outside US, and either attending the H4 interview, or use drop box facility in home country, if eligible.
2. It depends upon the officer. Recently many officers have been giving I-94 as per Visa expiry/Passport expiry, whichever is earlier, irrespective of I797 date. IF your spouse gets Feb 17th 217 as the I-94 expiry, you would need to file I539 before that date in order for her to be allowed to stay beyond that date.
3. I believe previous two points address this question.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[abhas5101]

Thanks for your response raghvi.

The question is: my current visa expires feb 17,2017 (current employer petition) and since i got a new job the new employer is filling a new h1(in premium processing) and i will get 3 more years on that(using i140) , so should my wife provide the new 797 visa copy at the port of entry , also does she require to go for visa stamping since its a new employer or its not required since i have validity till feb 2017 ?

[raghvi]

Thanks for your response raghvi.

The question is: my current visa expires feb 17,2017 (current employer petition) and since i got a new job the new employer is filling a new h1(in premium processing) and i will get 3 more years on that(using i140) , so should my wife provide the new 797 visa copy at the port of entry , also does she require to go for visa stamping since its a new employer or its not required since i have validity till feb 2017 ?

Your wife should provide the I797 of the employer with whom you are working with at the time of her entry to US.

Technically she is not required to go for a new stamping, but if you want to be absolutely sure that she gets an I-94 to match the new employer's I797 then it is recommended to get a new visa in passport.

This is my opinion not legal advice.