Passport Expiry Date: Jan 26th 2021
Most Recent Date of Entry: Dec 28th 2019
I-94 Expiry Date: Jan 26th 2021
H1B & Visa Expiry Date: June 10th 2021
My I-94 has expired and I am Out of Status since Jan 26th 2021 (Based on passport expiry Date) and have Valid H1B & Visa until June 10th 2021. My I-140 premium will be filed on Monday i.e., 04/19/2021 and my 6th year of H1b will be ending on Oct 1st 2021.
I Came to know this very recently that my passport and I-94 has expired and have immediately applied for my Passport on March 30th 2021 (Due to covid there is delay in processing and is taking approximately 2 months or more as per Indian Passport processing center). With the delay am expecting my passport delivery would be either few days before my H1B & Visa Expiry date i.e., June 10th 2021 or after it. What will be my possible solutions now? Will H1 extension with NPT help ?
I expedited my passport renewal and got it from embassy. Once after getting it as per company lawyer advice i travelled to Laredo to extend my i-94 but CBP officer at Bridge 1 is considering the i-94 present on i-797 (valid till Jun 10 2021) and says its already valid and there is nothing to extend, he was not understanding eventhough when i explained him that due to passport expiry my i-94 was shortened to passport expiry date (Jan 26 2021). They argued and threatened to cancel my visa when i’m explaining and told not to come again and he also asked sub officer to note my details in system and mention to refer to uscis (Not sure what comments they entered and where). When i explained this to my lawyer he said he will now file H1 with NPT.
I’m not sure what justification he will give while filing NPT so i’m concerned about it.
Is it wise to personally visit nearby CBP and explain the situation or travel other mexican borders/canada border ? Please suggest.