H1B Petition approved but I-94 is not updated

[samruddhi]

Hi,

I came to USA from India in Feb 2016 as a dependent on H4 visa with my husband. Post that we filed my H1B and the same got approved on 20th Oct 2016. I received my I-797A notice of action from my employer however my I94 still shows my Class of admission as 'H4' because of which I am not able to apply for Social Security number.

Can someone please help me to understand what are the possible ways to get an updated I94 with class 'H1B'.

Thanks a lot.

Samruddhi.

[newacct]

The petition should also be a Change of Status, so with the petition approval you should have gotten a paper I-94 (unless they indicated that you would consular process instead of change status). I'm not sure what you mean "your I-94 still shows...". An I-94 does not change. You get a new one. If you are talking about the electronic I-94 website from CBP, that will always only show the most recent electronic I-94 from an entry, because this is run by CBP which only deals with entries. You will get paper I-94s from USCIS when you change or extend status.

[samruddhi]

Thanks a lot for your valuable response.

My I-797 approval notice states the line as - 'The above petition and change of status have been approved' and I could also see a page attached to 797 showing my I-94 record number along with class as 'H1B'.

Earlier when I went to Social Security Office, the officer refused to process my request as the I-94 on CBP/Homeland Security website is showing my class of admission as 'H4'. Shall I take this page attached with my 797 to Social Security Office and present it as my new I-94 ??

Thanks a lot !!

Samruddhi.

[newacct]

If you are talking about a small paper stub that says "departure record", yes, that is the I-94. Your new I-94 has superseded your previous I-94s (including the electronic I-94 from when you entered); don't use those previous ones anymore.

[samruddhi]

If you are talking about a small paper stub that says "departure record", yes, that is the I-94. Your new I-94 has superseded your previous I-94s (including the electronic I-94 from when you entered); don't use those previous ones anymore.

Thanks a lot.

Earlier I provided my previous I-94. I will again apply for the SSN with my new I-94 now. Once again thanks a lot for your valuable suggestion and help. Really appreciate it a lot.

Samruddhi.

[shijithk]

samruddhi how did you finally get the SSN. One of my friend has the same issue now. His wife came on h4, now got h1b through lottery. The approval notice shows same i94 number as h4 when she entered the US. When applied for SSN, she did not receive it even after 4 weeks and SSN officer said it’s still waiting for immigration. Appreciate any help on this to get the SSN ASAP for her to work.

[newacct]

samruddhi how did you finally get the SSN. One of my friend has the same issue now. His wife came on h4, now got h1b through lottery. The approval notice shows same i94 number as h4 when she entered the US. When applied for SSN, she did not receive it even after 4 weeks and SSN officer said it’s still waiting for immigration. Appreciate any help on this to get the SSN ASAP for her to work.

When is the start date of her H1b I-94?

She can start working while waiting to receive the SSN.

[shijithk]

newacct The start date is already a past date for her I94, but how to get the SSN and follow up with Immigration/USCIS to fix the issue.

[anisri12]

@shijithk..Is your frnd wife received SSN? If Yes, how long it took? I am in same case. Applied SSN 4 weeks back but still it is pending with immigration. My case is H4 to H1B change of status.

It would be great if you can give any inputs on this.

[Hemuleku]

anisri12 did u get any updates on ssn? I have applied for mine on Jan 11 2023 and till date no updates received from them. Ssn office people say that it’s with DHS for verification. When did u get ur ssn ? Is there anything that we can do to speed up the process . Please do help me out here. Mine is same case as urs H4 to H1B