I-94 Correction
I-94 Correction
Over the years we’ve had many clients come to us with I-94 issues. With our extensive expertise we were able to fix those issues for our clients quickly. Failure to take action to make I-94 corrections will lead to major negative outcomes to your current legal status and for future visa and green card applications. Here are a few examples of the issues that we were able to correct and negative outcomes we were able to avoid for our clients.
In one case, we had a client come to us after realizing that both his passport number and date of birth were both listed incorrectly on his I-94. He discovered the error when reviewing his documents prior to retaining us to process his green card application. After we took his case, we had to analyze his documents and determine where the error originated and who was responsible for the error. Fortunately, the error was not caused by our client and was caused by US immigration so we could correct his I-94 very quickly. However, even if the error was made by our client, we would still be able to get his I-94 corrected but it would have been much more difficult. If we did not correct his I-94, it would have left him open to an accusation of fraud or misrepresentation – INA 212(a)(6)(c)(i). For more information regarding INA 212(a)(6)(c)(i) See https://messersmithlaw.com/ina-212a6ci/ and https://blog.messersmithlaw.com/?p=259
In another case, a client with an H1B visa came to us because his I-94 card had a shorter validity than he previously approved H1B petition. He had filed an H1B petition while in the US and it was approved for a 3 year term. He then traveled outside of the US and upon entry, he was given a I94 which was valid for just 18 months. He did not discover the discrepancy until it was time to apply for an H1B extension and at that point, his I94 had expired more than one year prior. As a result he had been in the United States without status working for over one year which meant he accrued more than one year of unlawful presence and was then subject to the unlawful presence bar.
Unlawful presence is the period of time when you are in the United States without being admitted or paroled or when you are not in a “period of stay authorized by the Secretary.” You may be barred from reentering the United States for:
- 3 years, if you depart the United States after having accrued more than 180 days but less than 1 year of unlawful presence during a single stay and before the commencement of removal proceedings;
- 10 years, if you depart the United States after having accrued one year or more of unlawful presence during a single stay, regardless of whether you leave before, during, or after removal proceedings; or
- Permanently, if you reenter or try to reenter the United States without being admitted or paroled after having accrued more than one year of unlawful presence in the aggregate during one or more stays in the United States.
Before we could handle the H1B extension, we first had to correct his I-94. We worked directly with US immigration to correct his I-94 immediately so he would not be subject to the 10 year unlawful presence bar and then we were able to process his H1B visa. In both situations we were able to get their I-94 corrections made in 1-3 business days. If you have an error on your I-94, contact us immediately to see if we can resolve it. Failure to act can lead to major issues which can lead to your removal from the US and being barred from returning permanently. You can contact us at 305 515 0613 or email us at info@messersmithlaw.com
In: I-94, I-94 correction · Tagged with: I-94, I-94 correction