Hello all,
Here is my experience with San Ysidro, my old passport got expired on 08/16/2020, and I have my visa till March 31, 2021. I was not aware of this i94 extension process,
I came to know recently only but it was already two months passed.
It will be a big post so whoever is looking for the fast answer, the answer is “yes” its success. People who have time can read the full experience below:
So First,I tried reaching LAX Deferred Inspection Office by email(because my last entry was LAX only) I94LAX@cbp.dhs.gov but they replied below:
“THIS IS NOT A CORRECTION. YOU WERE ADMITTED CORRECTLY UP TO THE VALIDITY OF THE PASSPORT PRESENTED.
REQUEST EXTENSION THROUGH USCIS OR LEAVE THE COUNTRY AND RETURN WITH A NEW PASSPORT AND A CURRENT VISA”
Requesting Extension through USCIS(using Form I539) wont work because I read like it will take 6 to 8 months, but I need updated i94 asap for my next extension, Also, I’m not sure whether
I can apply i94 extension after expiry. So the best option left for me is crossing the border. Luckily I’m in Torrance and the Tijuana border is just two hours from my home.
So I planned to drive on 10/17/2020 (Saturday), my only concern is , i-94 already expired so I was worried how will they treat this case. My only hope was one of the forum,
someone mentioned like his spouse h4 expired on November 2019 and later sometime only he updated the i94, Also , I called San Ysidro CBP office(619-662-2229) and explained my situation,
Officer said I have to reenter asap since its already out of status but he didn’t say anything like its illegal and your entry will be denied something like that.
So having all those stories in my mind, I started my drive on Saturday morning around 6.30 am, so I drove all the way to the “Las Americas Premium Outlets”
Outlets Address - 4211 Camino De La Plaza, San Diego, CA 92173
So I parked my car in the outlets mall and I started my navigation to “san ysidro land port of entry west pedestrian facility”
So we have two option here, San ysidro land port of entry west pedestrian facility and san ysidro land port of entry east pedestrian facility.
In one of the forum someone mentioned like without crossing border , he updated the i94 in the west port of entry, so I thought of give a shot here.
It’s just 3 mins walk from the outlets parking,I just crossed the signal and took right, end of the street ,I saw the office. There was one officer standing outside.
Before I ask anything he told me the Office is closed, then I told him I came for i94 extension, then he went inside and asked someone.
He came out and told me like, the officer who will do the i94 things wont work on Saturday, and he asked me to come Monday 6 am to 2 pm.
But I don’t want to do it again,because even they can ask me to cross border so I moved to East side office, this one you to walk little bit, you have to cross the bridge. you can find it easily once you are there.
So i told the same thing to the one of the officer in the east side office, he asked me to cross the border and come back again, before entering into USA port of entry,
he told me like there will be a yellow building, where i have to do the extension.
So I crossed the border and just started to walk back to the USA port of entry, while going you can find the yellow building on your right side, you can see board like “Permits” in
that building.
I have to pay 6 $ fee there for the extension but there was no one in the counter, other officer called me who is next to the counter, i told the same thing again.
I gave my old and new passport and also my i797.He asked to sit in the chair opposite to his counter.
So here is the most tension phase comes:
He checked my i94 and he was not sure how to proceed further since i94 was already expired. He was discussing with other officers in front of me, I didn’t understand what they
were talking, All I heard was Aug 16 2020. So many things were running into my mind, I was thinking like:
- What will happen to my car if they deny my entry? Will they tow away somewhere?
- Where to go next? Can I fly to LAX and give another try?
- How to convey this to my wife as she is staying alone in the home.
- Worst case, I have to go back to India but I made my mindset for everything.
So after all these things, half an hour later, one more new officer came and he explained my case to him. But this time I heard clearly , new officer told him like, “this one is
just the old passport got expired and later he renewed the new one so this just needs to be updated in the on-line. I can do that” After I heard this, I became normal. So the new officer
called my name and he confirms me why I’m there(just for i94 extension), I said yes. He asked me to pay 6$ (you need exact change) in the counter.
They gave me one receipt and again i went back to his counter and said I paid it, so he asked me to lower the mask, he took one picture and asked me to place the four fingers
for biometrics. After that he asked which city I’m ahead to. I said my city name.Then, I just asked,will it updated in on-line as well? he said “yes”.
Thats all.
All went well. I crossed the port of entry and drove back to my home.
Good luck for you as well. Hope this will help someone.
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