shahd-h

Hello everyone

Me, my wife and our 2 children, are here from UK on E-2 investors visa, which not due to expire until 2020.
However, just seen that our I-94 expires in Oct 2017, just under 2 months from now.

Can someone please advise our best plan of action. We are getting conflicting opinions and really unsure about what to do.

I see there is form I-539 (and some other associated forms) which I've been told can be filed to renew I-94, but can take about 5 months.

I've also heard, we can take a couple of days holiday to Canada and on return we will get a new I-94 since our visa is still valid for 2 years.

If we fill in the form I-539, we can still stay until a decision is made, even if I-94 has expired?
By filling in I-539, do we have to supply all business related paperwork, business licenses, payroll, etc etc

Are there any attorneys who can offer free advise or consultation?

Help and advise would be really appreciated.
I'm little nervous as really have no idea what to do.
We still have the visa for 3 more years.

What have other people done in recent times?

Fred16

We are on Lvisa and our company sent off I539 back in May for extensions as I94 expired. Still waiting for approval
We are allowed to remain while that is processing

HOWEVER, you may have an additional hurdle
In our state TX, drivers license was tied to I94, which have expired
I539 pending not valid for new DL
I would check your DL expiry too, you may find if you can not drive(and you have to), leaving and re-enter may be your only option

shahd-h

Thank you Fred16.

My license does expire in Oct and my wife license won't get issued (she passed her test 2 months ago).

So that would be a major problem if I am unable to drive.

Do you have any further info on going out of country and returning?
Can we just go to Canada for 2 days and return?
Or do we have to stay out of US for certain length of time?
I'm assuming re-entry shouldn't be a problem as we have valid E-2 visas.
Would we then get new I-94 for possibly further 2 years?

Fred16

Yes Canada is fine
Make sure they admit you in with correct dates and correct status
Hopefully your passports are not expiring soon as they can only admit you to expiry date

shahd-h

'admit with correct dates and status' - by this you mean when we return back to US?
Is a short stay like couple of days sufficient?
All passports (mine, wife, 2 kids) still have few years left.
I just used Canada as a reference, but does it matter which country we go to?
If not then I'd probably find wherever it is cheapest as we can't afford a holiday or expensive tickets.

Fred16

Yes, your status when you return

Short stay could be
You live in Niagara, NY
Cross the bridge into Canada, spot of lunch, see the falls from Canada side
return, you can get your new I94...if you have issues, ask to speak to a supervisor

shahd-h

Actually, no, I live in Atlanta, GA.
You make it sound so easy! :-)

It should be that easy as we still have valid passports and visas. But immigrations always scare you.

ian-mstm

You can go to Mexico, Bermuda, or the Bahamas if you like. The point is that you must exit the US... the destination doesn't matter. You can leave and re-enter the same day if you want. You aren't required to remain out of the country for any specific length of time before re-entering.

Ian

S Folinsky

The practice is called "flag poling." When I was in practice, the big problem was the tendency of the border guard to readmit on the old I-94 rather than issue a new one when done at a land port of entry.

shahd-h

Thanks everyone replies.

Has anyone experienced where you are re-entered on current i-94 rather than get a new i-94 for further 2 years?

I know no one can say anything for sure but is it a realistic possibility that we may not get a new i-94 but get entered on the one we have which expires in Oct 2017?

ian-mstm

I'm sure some have, but I don't believe it's as common as has been suggested. Former lawyers, like Mr. Folinsky above, love to relate stories of things going wrong - and why not... it's how they make a living - so they share true, albeit, alarming and (often) irrelevant information!


The possibility exists, yes - but it's unlikely. If you don't receive a new I-94 and you believe that you should have received a new one, you can go to a Deferred Inspection station to get it corrected.

Ian

shahd-h

Thank you Ian, feel little assured now as I did get a little nervous reading Mr. Folinsky's reply.

I will update this thread on my situation as there'll be others in my situation and in need of advise.

wisygreen

Yes. At Phoenix airport after 3 nights in Cabo. We had several months left on our I94 and had plans to go to Europe within that timeframe so it was not a problem. We did question it and was told that as it was a short trip to a contiguous country we were not eligible for a new i94.

shahd-h

Ouch.
How long did you stay in Europe?
On return from Europe, you got new i-94?

ian-mstm

This is certainly true if you were travelling on the VWP, but if you had an unexpired visa then they deliberately lied to you. They are allowed to lie to you with impunity.

Ian