voided i-94 - advice needed

Need some urgent advise, hence posting here. Mods pls move to appropriate forum later.
Here is my situation:
Applied and got h1b ext in oct 2016 valid till 2020.
In nov 2016, Went on closed loop cruise trip to Mexico/Cayman Islands and came back. Checked the i94 site one week after cruise, there were no updates. Assumed that closed loop cruise is not considered for I94

Today again checked the i94 website and my latest i94 is valid till feb 2017. Reached out to company HR. They told me the latest i94 has voided my extension and advised me to go to CBP office at the earliest.

Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone faced this problem before? If so is it just going to cbp office and showing them my latest 129 will resolve the issue? Pls advise.
2. Will cbp reject to update if so what are my options

Thanks in advance gurus!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gop999

Need some urgent advise, hence posting here. Mods pls move to appropriate forum later.
Here is my situation:
Applied and got h1b ext in oct 2016 valid till 2020.
In nov 2016, Went on closed loop cruise trip to Mexico/Cayman Islands and came back. Checked the i94 site one week after cruise, there were no updates. Assumed that closed loop cruise is not considered for I94

Today again checked the i94 website and my latest i94 is valid till feb 2017. Reached out to company HR. They told me the latest i94 has voided my extension and advised me to go to CBP office at the earliest.

Here are my questions:
1. Has anyone faced this problem before? If so is it just going to cbp office and showing them my latest 129 will resolve the issue? Pls advise.
2. Will cbp reject to update if so what are my options

Thanks in advance gurus!

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Unfortunately, only the latest and greatest I-94 is valid, so your HR rep is correct - you'll need to go over to the CBP office and request a new I-94. There is the concept of automatic visa-validation for those travelling in the contiguous states, but I don't know if that revalidation needs to be requested at the port of entry (vs. afterwards).

Not the scare you, but its very likely that they will deny the request unless you can prove that it will cause 'significant economic hardship and undue harm'.

Your alternative is to go back to India and get a new VISA stamp and return to the USA.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mechanical13

Unfortunately, only the latest and greatest I-94 is valid, so your HR rep is correct - you'll need to go over to the CBP office and request a new I-94. There is the concept of automatic visa-validation for those travelling in the contiguous states, but I don't know if that revalidation needs to be requested at the port of entry (vs. afterwards).

Not the scare you, but its very likely that they will deny the request unless you can prove that it will cause 'significant economic hardship and undue harm'.

Your alternative is to go back to India and get a new VISA stamp and return to the USA.

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I have been in similar situation. My visa was expiring in 2 weeks but I had new I-797. I gave it to officer at POE but he entered my visa expiry date for I-94. When I checked the website after coming out of PoE on my way home, I found the I-94 expiring in 2 weeks. Next day I rushed to CBP office at airport; showed my I-797 and passport, got my I-94 updated with ease. If you gave ur I-797 to officer at PoE, it is actually their mistake not to issue you a correct I-94 and they should fix it. Another guy was also there at CBP office and he got his I-94 corrected too without much questioning. Just to be clear for those reading this, the CBP office at airport is different from PoE. You just have to google it and probably see the address on cbp website which is usually the Terminal number. Go there and ask someone who works at airport for CBP office location. They dont stay open 24 hours, so check for timings too before you visit. You can go to the nearest airport and not just the airport where you were issued I-94. Again this only pertains to getting a mistake fixed by CBP officer and not for any other purpose. If the officer didnt make a mistake, they wont fix it.

gop99-- My understanding on this matter is same as delguy. The CBP office (which is usually at an accessible location in the airport) will re-issue I-94 in cases were the error was on part of the Port Of Entry officer. From your post it is unclear if you showed your latest 797 (valid till 2020) to the officer while making a re-entry into USA. If you can convince the CBP office at the airport that it was an error/omission on their part, they should re-issue I-94. All the best and please do post an update.