Karlosthecackle

So i fly back into PHL last weekend and whilst going through immigration, the officer says:

"Oh just to let you know that we've been instructed to put your Admit until date to that of your PED (Petition Expiry date) blah blah blah something about Trump, too much L1 VISA fraud and wanting people to renew sooner"

My VISA expiry date is November 2020... My PED is January 2018... Worriedly i spoke to the HR department and was told "oh this is completely normal" and "you will just need to renew your VISA when you're next back in the UK". I'm not really sure the HR person I spoke to is entirely aware of what it took to get the L1 in the first place, EG, waiting for pack of stuff from immigration attorney, go online fill out questionnaire, book appointment etc. and more importantly then have to wait for your passport to be sent back to you with the VISA page in it!

I plan on going back to the UK at the end of July but was only planning on being there a couple of days to pick up my kids and bring them back to the US for three weeks (do this every year).

My question for those who've been through this already is.. how long do I need to be in the UK for to go through the VISA renewal process? Is it quicker than the initial application process or am I looking at needing to be in the UK for a good two weeks (depending on when i can get an interview of course, if needed)

Thanks in advance

hungryhorace

The CBP officer is an idiot.

You should always have only been admitted until the expiry of your underlying petition. Nothing has changed on that front.

Your 'visa' is valid until 11/2020. Why are you even thinking about its renewal? When the time comes to renew the visa, you must first have a renewed petition in place. Then, you simply complete a DS-160 online as you did previously.

roberth1970

You will have to have your company and their lawyers extend your L1 petition, it's only valid for three years. It can be extended for two lots of two years after that. It's similar to the initial petition (but not as big, as I remember).

Assuming your visa is still valid, you can then use it as long as you have a (new) valid approved petition.

TheKingOfHearts

Is this entirely true? I've always been admittedly on my i-94 only until the PED expiry date. I'm on a blanket petition, and the PED expiry was exactly 3 years from the day I got my visa, the visa expiry is 5 years.

Entering using CBP and GlobalEntry ALWAYS sets my i-94 as the PED date.

hungryhorace

Yes. It is.


The experience you describe above simply demonstrates the accuracy of my original statement.

TheKingOfHearts

But surely the blanket petitions expiry date is not exactly that of 3 years from the day my visa was issued?

Is it not merely that those on a blanket PED get 3 years by default and can apply for the additional 2?

hungryhorace

Mine certainly wasn't, though I wasn't on a blanket petition.

No. Those on either petition (blanket or individual) receive 3 years by default with additional extensions available.

Regardless, this is all irrelevant to the OP's query.

Millski

Just thought I'd tag onto this thread rather than starting a new one. I'm in a similar position having reached the end of my initial 3 years on an L-1A. I have just received notice that the application to have my visa extended has been approved and I now have an I-797 form in hand which is valid until 07/20/2019.


My current visa has a PED of 07/20/2017 (expiration date on the visa is 11/17/2019), my question is do I have to leave the U.S. before the PED and go to the U.S. Embassy in London to get a new visa put in my passport, or can I remain in the U.S. beyond this date? I was planning a trip home anyway, but to organise that before the 20th is going to be a bit of a stretch. My most recent I-94 (that you can access on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website) still states that the admit until date is 07/20/2017, I just want to make absolutely sure I'm not going to end up barred from the U.S. by C&BP for overstaying!

Millski

Also my passport expires on May 2nd 2018, should my first priority be to get my passport renewed? I can't remember if they require you to surrender your old passport?

PeterNem

Millski - you're fine. The paper I-94 that comes with the I-797 will show the date that you're now permitted to stay until. When USCIS extend the petition they don't update the electronic I-94 record and the paper version serves that purpose instead. You must carry it when you next re-enter the US. In my case the CBP officer attached it to my passport.

Millski

Awesome, thanks Peter!

Millski

Just to update, I came back into the country via Atlanta on Monday using my new I-797 / I-94 with no problems, the CBP officer stamped my passport right up to the end of the validity period on my I-94 despite my passport expiring sooner.

Fred16

Well done, but such inconsistency our I94 dates were to the passport expiry even though visa valid later than passport expiry

Karlosthecackle

Hi all,

Thought i'd give an update.

Immigration lawyers provided me with a new blanket petition number, but told me I had to go through the whole visa process again, EG, DS-160, Back to the UK for VISA interview, etc. So appointment is now booked for November.

What is this I-797 form? From what I can work out, Millski was in the same boat as me (Expired PED on his passport VISA) but he hasn't had to go for re-interview/get a new VISA page?

I would've thought if this was possible the immigration lawyers wouldn't be making me fly back to the UK (with the additional cost to the company)

Confused.com?

Millski

My immigration attorney also told me that I would need to go to the Embassy to get a new visa, but after doing my own research (which included contacting the Embassy, USCIS and CBP, all of which couldn't give me a definitive answer and told me to go ask one of the other agencies!), and speaking to my cousin's husband who went through exactly the same process about a year prior to me (plus the feedback I received on here), I decided to chance it and luckily for me everything was fine.


My cousin's husband comes in and out of the country far more frequently than I do and he said he's only had a CBP officer bring up the expired PED once when trying to re-enter, but after showing him the new I-797 and I-94 he let him through. It seems like it's pot luck as to whether you get a CBP officer (and in some cases an attorney!) who knows the rules or not. You will definitely need that new I-797/I-94 though, at least for an individual petition, I couldn't comment on how things are supposed to work with a blanket petition. My cousin's husband was told to carry a copy of his petition and forms too just in case.