I have an H1B visa stamp from Employer A. Employer B then filed an H1B change of employer for me, which was approved. Last week, I entered the U.S. using the visa stamp from Employer A and the approval notice from Employer B. But, when I check my I-94 online, it shows that the officer only admitted me through the expiration date of my visa, not the extended date from Employer B’s petition. What should I do now?

Answer

This is a fairly common issue that arises at U.S. ports of entry. We typically recommend contacting a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) deferred inspection site to request that the I-94 be corrected.

Note that, in situations like these, it is virtually impossible to prove that this was a CBP error (i.e., no way to evidence that the person actually presented the new I-797 approval when admitted). So, there is always the risk that CBP could refuse to grant the request to correct the I-94.

In general, we have found that CBP is more likely to grant the request if the error is caught shortly after entering the U.S. Further, even if the request is not granted by CBP, identifying the problem shortly after entering the U.S. tends to make it significantly easier to resolve the matter in some other way. This is why foreign nationals in nonimmigrant status should always check the online I-94 immediately after being admitted to the U.S. (10.Mar.2022)

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