I-94 Correction Experience

[grungestar]

Thank you AnshX

Thank you so very much!

Hi ,

I am not much sure about how it works on L1B visa as I was on H1B when I got my extension and posted my experiences in this thread. But I guess it should be similar. Also I dont know if by 'Visa' you are referring to Petition or Visa stamp... In my experiences I-94 dates are matched to the dates on your petition (which is I797 in H1B case) and not with Visa stamp dates. And Yes, I did not cross the border to get my I94 extension and it was done on the US soil (on the US side of the San Diego Border). All step by step details including questions and addresses I have posted in the first message of this thread, please read that.

[madan_immi]

Thanks Ansh. Followed exact steps and it worked.
BTW, confirmed with the officer that this office is open 24 x 7.

Hi, Re-posting my original message in this thread as it seems many people couldn't see the first page and asking the same questions.


------------------------------Original Post------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Folks, I recently got my I-94 corrected on San Diego - Mexico border and thought to share my experience for the people in the same situation. Note that this is just my personal experience so please do your research too as per your case.

Situation: My old passport got expired and I got a new passport, so needed to correct my I-94 dates to keep it in line with my H1B’s petition I-797 dates. I traveled to Tijuana Border, San Diego. I did not have to cross the border to correct the I-94 dates. I directly went to Land port of Entry (on US side of border) and explained my situation to an immigration officer. He was a nice guy and sent me to an immigration counter to get all this done. Below are step by step instructions from my experience.

1. I traveled to Tijuana Border, San Diego. Parked my vehicle to the closest ‘Border Station Parking’ (On the US side). Google map address is <<4570 Camino De La Plaza, San Ysidro, CA 92173>>. There are several other parking / a near by outlet mall parking you can search for.

2. I came out of the parking and walked towards the intersection of Virginia Ave & Camino De La Plaza Blvd. Now walked on Virginia Ave towards Mexico side until I saw a bus stop. Right next to it there is a Building with American Flags and the building name is ‘San Ysidro Land Port of Entry – West Pedestrian Facility’. Google address is <<415-499 Virginia Ave, San Diego, CA 92173>>. This is the place where I-94 was to be corrected. (Note that earlier it all would be done at East Pedestrian Facility which is around 1 mile away from West Facility and one had to cross pedestrian foot over bridge. First I also went there but an officer told me that recently they have shifted it to West facility). And I did not have to cross border to get to those buildings as both are on US side of border.

3. So, on reaching the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry – West Pedestrian Facility building I found 2 glass doors with one having a board of I-94 Permits. I went inside that hall and saw few border agents sitting across the counter with last window as payment counter. I told security guard that why I am here and he asked to pay $6 for each applicant at the payment window and get the receipt. Then I sat down for my turn and shortly a border agent called me.

4. In my case, officer asked me some general questions like my address etc. I explained my case politely and showed him I797/other papers as required. He asked to show address proof and checked few records in the systems and finally took my finger prints/webcam pic and stapled a paper I-94 on my new passport and also put a stamp with new dates as applicable per my I797 dates. Entire process took 15 minutes around. This officer was very polite and cooperating and also gave me useful suggestions.

5. I thanked the officer and left. Immediately after coming out of building I checked I-94 official website on internet, and there too my new I-94 dates had got updated. I was all set and left the premises ! I had so many doubts before going but all of this went well and smoothly, so I thought to share my experience in detail to help others in similar situation.

P.S. : Prior to my visit to Mexico border, I also visited USCIS Deferred Inspection Site located in San Francisco and met up with an Immigration officer to correct I-94. But he confirmed that they can extend I-94 maximum until your old passport expiry date. If you got a new passport, you will have to cross border to get this corrected. Therefore, I planned to travel to Mexico Border. Hope it was helpful !


Disclaimer :These are just my personal experiences and not a legal advice.



Thanks,
Ansh

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[AnshX]

Thanks Ansh. Followed exact steps and it worked.
BTW, confirmed with the officer that this office is open 24 x 7.

That's Cool Madan_immi congrates !!!

[sonalov]

Same Case - Took only 10 min

Thanks Ansh. It worked for me.
I think these people are now know about this I-94 extension situation very well, they asked directly are you here for I-94 extension and I said Yes and they check VISA and Passport and that's it.

[qfrats]

I followed your steps and get my I94 updated. Thank you so much for the detailed instructions.

Do you know if the correction would fix all the issues? Would it ever come up again later in international travel, obtaining visa stamps or green card applications?

Hi, Re-posting my original message in this thread as it seems many people couldn't see the first page and asking the same questions.


------------------------------Original Post------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Folks, I recently got my I-94 corrected on San Diego - Mexico border and thought to share my experience for the people in the same situation. Note that this is just my personal experience so please do your research too as per your case.

Situation: My old passport got expired and I got a new passport, so needed to correct my I-94 dates to keep it in line with my H1B’s petition I-797 dates. I traveled to Tijuana Border, San Diego. I did not have to cross the border to correct the I-94 dates. I directly went to Land port of Entry (on US side of border) and explained my situation to an immigration officer. He was a nice guy and sent me to an immigration counter to get all this done. Below are step by step instructions from my experience.

1. I traveled to Tijuana Border, San Diego. Parked my vehicle to the closest ‘Border Station Parking’ (On the US side). Google map address is <<4570 Camino De La Plaza, San Ysidro, CA 92173>>. There are several other parking / a near by outlet mall parking you can search for.

2. I came out of the parking and walked towards the intersection of Virginia Ave & Camino De La Plaza Blvd. Now walked on Virginia Ave towards Mexico side until I saw a bus stop. Right next to it there is a Building with American Flags and the building name is ‘San Ysidro Land Port of Entry – West Pedestrian Facility’. Google address is <<415-499 Virginia Ave, San Diego, CA 92173>>. This is the place where I-94 was to be corrected. (Note that earlier it all would be done at East Pedestrian Facility which is around 1 mile away from West Facility and one had to cross pedestrian foot over bridge. First I also went there but an officer told me that recently they have shifted it to West facility). And I did not have to cross border to get to those buildings as both are on US side of border.

3. So, on reaching the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry – West Pedestrian Facility building I found 2 glass doors with one having a board of I-94 Permits. I went inside that hall and saw few border agents sitting across the counter with last window as payment counter. I told security guard that why I am here and he asked to pay $6 for each applicant at the payment window and get the receipt. Then I sat down for my turn and shortly a border agent called me.

4. In my case, officer asked me some general questions like my address etc. I explained my case politely and showed him I797/other papers as required. He asked to show address proof and checked few records in the systems and finally took my finger prints/webcam pic and stapled a paper I-94 on my new passport and also put a stamp with new dates as applicable per my I797 dates. Entire process took 15 minutes around. This officer was very polite and cooperating and also gave me useful suggestions.

5. I thanked the officer and left. Immediately after coming out of building I checked I-94 official website on internet, and there too my new I-94 dates had got updated. I was all set and left the premises ! I had so many doubts before going but all of this went well and smoothly, so I thought to share my experience in detail to help others in similar situation.

P.S. : Prior to my visit to Mexico border, I also visited USCIS Deferred Inspection Site located in San Francisco and met up with an Immigration officer to correct I-94. But he confirmed that they can extend I-94 maximum until your old passport expiry date. If you got a new passport, you will have to cross border to get this corrected. Therefore, I planned to travel to Mexico Border. Hope it was helpful !


Disclaimer :These are just my personal experiences and not a legal advice.



Thanks,
Ansh

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[qfrats]

My updated I94 is also under my old passport. I visited the deferred inspection office in Downtown San Diego and get updated under my new passport.

I am not sure this is the right move or I messed it up again...

Ansh, thank you for your post. Yesterday i successfully did i94 renew. I was quick and easy. Officers very helpful.

After renew I checked status online with new passport and did not find any information. So I checked again with old passport and found update under old passport. Hence I went to same officer and asked him should I see update under old passport or new? He explained that stamped VISA is under old passport hence as long as this VISA is valid all i94 update will be under OLD passport number. This is the reason you need to carry both passport till you get NEW VISA on NEW PASSPORT.

I hope this helps to many folks here who are not sure about going to San Ysidro Land Port of Entry.

TIP: You can also pay $6 online before going there. There is seperate line for pre-paid. So in case there is line for regular i94 update, you need not wait.

Disclaimer: This was my experience and not legal advice. You do your own research.

[meghanaDiwakara]

Is there a way to get an appointment?

Thanks Ansh. It worked for me.
I think these people are now know about this I-94 extension situation very well, they asked directly are you here for I-94 extension and I said Yes and they check VISA and Passport and that's it.

I am travelling all the way from Atlanta to San Ysidro Land Port of Entry to get i94 extended for same case. Is there any way to take an appointment before going? also is there a document list preferred?

[meghanaDiwakara]

got i94 extended to visa valid date

I am travelling all the way from Atlanta to San Ysidro Land Port of Entry to get i94 extended for same case. Is there any way to take an appointment before going? also is there a document list preferred?

I got my i94 extended the same way at San Ysidro Land Port of Entry. I parked the car near the outlet mall and walked to west pedestrian Facility. There was a line for i94 already. Most people were talking in Spanish. Paid 6$ and explained my case to officer. He gave me new i94 in a paper and same got updated online under my old passport number. Questions I had before coming -> 1) Do we need to take an appointment - I found answer is no. Just walk in. 2) Documents required - i797, stamped page in passport and DL for US address proof.

thanks Ansh for detailed steps.
Disclaimer :These are just my personal experiences and not a legal advice.

[ertu]

Thank you so much for the post. I finally see some light after two days of searching for a solution.

My story: I have I-94 expired 2 months ago with my old passport. My visa stamp is also expired. My I-797 is till June 2019.

I am wondering ---- after your i-94 was updated, does the online status show you entered US from this port on the day you traveled to San Ysidro or they simply "corrected" the old entry record when your old i-94 was given.

For example, my last entry was August 2016, when I got my last I-94. Does the online status still show last entry is on August 2016 or March 2018? I think if it is the latter case, I might have a problem since I don't have a valid visa stamp....

Thanks!

[ertu]

Thank you all for sharing experiences. Very helpful instructions! The officer did not have any problem with my expired visa. I just successfully got my I-94 renewed as well. Yeah!

[kayswagger]

Another positive experience

+ 1 to all the things mentioned by previous folks!

Reason for visit: I had my visa stamped on a passport that was expiring a year before my visa end date, so my I-94 was only valid till the passport expiration date.

I did not pre-pay for the i-94 online, so had to wait in line for about 45min (Friday 11am). You can pre-pay online on this website and skip the long line: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/ -- Although I don't believe the wait would be that long on other weekdays and evenings.

The officer only needed to see my passport and driver's license (address proof) before correcting my i-94 validity to the end date on my H1 visa. I still recommend being fully prepared and carrying all documents that provide evidence of valid work status (i-797, current i-94 print, 3 most recent paychecks, company verification of employment)

Just follow the instructions mentioned on this thread and all the best!

[chegde]

I-94 renewal

Hi All,

Can someone please let me know, does this process change your "Most Recent Entry" date on I-94 or just updates the "Admit Until" date?

Thanks,
Hegde

[Techno7]

Hi All,

Can someone please let me know, does this process change your "Most Recent Entry" date on I-94 or just updates the "Admit Until" date?

Thanks,
Hegde

It changed last entry date as well for me. I asked officer for the reason behind it since I never crossed the border, but he mentioned it is as per process. I got it done on 5th APR 2018.

[chegde]

It changed last entry date as well for me. I asked officer for the reason behind it since I never crossed the border, but he mentioned it is as per process. I got it done on 5th APR 2018.

Thank you@Techno7.

If that date is attached to old passport, then that proves we did not go out and re-entered US correct? Because, if we actually travel, we should travel with new passport(+old one as visa is on old one), and records/travel history gets attached to new passport. In this case of extending I-9 without crossing border, will not update anything on new passport, is that right? The reason I am asking this is, my H1B is under processing for lottery and if it gets picked up, I am worried, if COS gets denied based on any proof saying I wasn't in the country during processing.

[Techno7]

Thank you@Techno7.

If that date is attached to old passport, then that proves we did not go out and re-entered US correct? Because, if we actually travel, we should travel with new passport(+old one as visa is on old one), and records/travel history gets attached to new passport. In this case of extending I-9 without crossing border, will not update anything on new passport, is that right? The reason I am asking this is, my H1B is under processing for lottery and if it gets picked up, I am worried, if COS gets denied based on any proof saying I wasn't in the country during processing.

I confirm that it was updated on my old passport for me. It makes sense what you said, but really, i am not aware of technicalities around it. Sorry for not being much of help.