Thanks Anil. On the other side. If I go to mexico or Canada by road and enters with my approved I797 petition that will update my I-94. Will this be an option for consular processing?
No. Consular processing means US Embassy processing.
You will need a valid H1B visa stamp to re-enter US again.
Is your stamped H1B still valid?
H1b stamp is expired.
The advice that you may have got or heard from people which talks about revalidating visa (with approved i797) by travelling to Mexico or Canada is right.
But, it does not fit your case.
i94 should be valid for Automatic Visa Re-validation
For re-validation to work, your i94 should be valid.
When the H1B is approved with ‘Consular Processing’, USCIS does NOT issue you a new i94.
That means that if you do get an approved H1B i797, you will still NOT have the i94 attached to it.
So, you cannot use this i797 to re-enter without first getting a visa stamp (foil) from US embassy.
Does that answer your question?
We have covered the conditions for Automatic Re-validation of US visa in detail here:
1 Like
Yes it answer my question. Thank you Anil!