Tweet
Hi,
Let me try explaining my situation.
-My employer was filing my H1-B extension in Jan 2018, when they realized I have been out of status since April 2017.
(-I had an approved I797 with I-94 card till July 2018, issued in 2015.
-While coming back from India trip in 2016, I was given a new I-94 at PoE with date till April 2017, since my passport was expiring in 2017.
I was under the false impression that my I-94 expiring in Aug 2018 is the valid one here, thus I didn't take any steps to get a new I-94 after April 2017.)
Since, my 'out of status' days was greater than 6 months, I couldn't just go the CBP office and get a new I-94. And, if I leave US now, I couldn't come back for 3 years.
So, now my employer's law firm said we'll file for H1-B extension with premium processing, and also attach an 'equities argument' with the application,
arguing this was an oversight on my part and asking for forgiveness for not correcting my 'status' within 6 months of the expiry date(April 2017).
The argument was pretty detailed-talked about how moving back to India for 3 years would impact my family, my daughter who is a US citizen etc..
I received the H1-B extension approval notice yesterday, but there was no I-94 attached to it. It also came with a decision notice stating that USCIS disagreed
with our argument and will not grant an internal extension based on me being out of status for over 180 days.
So, the law firm says our only option now is to file an appeal against the decision. We'll basically send the same arguments in much more detail for the appeal.
They are not in favor of me going out of the country and re-entering(hoping the PoE officer would be more sympathetic and just issue me the new I-94).
Any suggestions here? Is it worth trying to exit and re-enter US?
Does anyone else here have had a similar situation? Please share your experience how you went about the application.
I will be out of status for 1 year by Apr 20, at which point I am barred from entering US for 10 years. The only good solution I see here is if the appeal
result is in my favor, and comes before April 20(since, I would have to leave US by that deadline). Reading the USCIS page, the result could take upto 6 months,
though my lawyer says we should have it by end of March.
Let me try explaining my situation.
-My employer was filing my H1-B extension in Jan 2018, when they realized I have been out of status since April 2017.
(-I had an approved I797 with I-94 card till July 2018, issued in 2015.
-While coming back from India trip in 2016, I was given a new I-94 at PoE with date till April 2017, since my passport was expiring in 2017.
I was under the false impression that my I-94 expiring in Aug 2018 is the valid one here, thus I didn't take any steps to get a new I-94 after April 2017.)
Since, my 'out of status' days was greater than 6 months, I couldn't just go the CBP office and get a new I-94. And, if I leave US now, I couldn't come back for 3 years.
So, now my employer's law firm said we'll file for H1-B extension with premium processing, and also attach an 'equities argument' with the application,
arguing this was an oversight on my part and asking for forgiveness for not correcting my 'status' within 6 months of the expiry date(April 2017).
The argument was pretty detailed-talked about how moving back to India for 3 years would impact my family, my daughter who is a US citizen etc..
I received the H1-B extension approval notice yesterday, but there was no I-94 attached to it. It also came with a decision notice stating that USCIS disagreed
with our argument and will not grant an internal extension based on me being out of status for over 180 days.
So, the law firm says our only option now is to file an appeal against the decision. We'll basically send the same arguments in much more detail for the appeal.
They are not in favor of me going out of the country and re-entering(hoping the PoE officer would be more sympathetic and just issue me the new I-94).
Any suggestions here? Is it worth trying to exit and re-enter US?
Does anyone else here have had a similar situation? Please share your experience how you went about the application.
I will be out of status for 1 year by Apr 20, at which point I am barred from entering US for 10 years. The only good solution I see here is if the appeal
result is in my favor, and comes before April 20(since, I would have to leave US by that deadline). Reading the USCIS page, the result could take upto 6 months,
though my lawyer says we should have it by end of March.
Comment