I94 extension at San Diego Ysidro US Mexico Border, Old passport expired, Renewed passport

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377

Hi Andand,

I am planning for my i94 extinction since my old passport getting expired soon to match with my new passport, It would be helpful if you have any contact details to check with CBP officers on my case before is travel.

378

Thanks for sharing experience. I am on H-1B and my I-94 was issued with limited validity as my passport was expiring at POE. We applied for AOS and shouldn’t leave country while case is still pending but need to extend I-94. This is a big relief to know that we can get it done being on US soil. I have these questions

  1. Does I-94 history show that you departed and reentered US
  2. Did they give you same I-94 number

If I am asked to cross border and do U-turn, can others who has border crossing experience answer same questions as well.

381

Thanks for sharing your experience. Appreciate if you answer these questions

How is I-94 travel history I94 - Official Website showing for you, is it like you departed and reentered US
Did you get new I-94 number

382

nope , its just like normal entry, just the date and the location(SYS), regarding the second question, yes i got new i94 number and also the new date (Admit Until Date).

383

Thanks @nirmaldreamz . I am not sure if it was intentional or not, your original post is deleted. If you don’t mind, I request you to post it back which will help many people on this forum.

384

@Siemens_Malvern Actually there are two different threads, that’s why i deleted second one but I will post it again in this thread too

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 need 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”.
That’s 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.

385

@nirmaldreamz I see I thought you accidentally deleted your post and thanks for the clarification.

another question, seems like you first went to PedWest and sounds like it is is open now except that they won’t do your permits on weekends. you could have crossed border at PedWest, any particular reason why you choose to go to PedEast to cross the border

386

@Siemens_Malvern no particular reason, I know the east side well, since I been there before, that’s all,

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@nirmaldreamz I am sure you must have gone through Mexico immigration and customs. Could you add your experience on this front on Mexico side.

I am going tomorrow to extend my I-94 and I feel U-turn on PedWest side seems much safer after watching these pretty good videos.

Walking into Tijuana Mexico using the San Ysidro Crossing 2019 Walking into Tijuana Mexico using the San Ysidro Crossing 2019 - YouTube
Crossing into Tijuana Mexico By Foot Using PedWest 2019 Crossing into Tijuana Mexico By Foot Using PedWest 2019 - YouTube

388

@Anil_Gupta and other active members here, thank you so much for your great work which is helping thousands of people. I am crossing PedWest border this Saturday. Per your post Mexico immigration is not hit, but I see Mexico immigration in this video. Can you mark time on this video where I do U-turn before hitting Mexico immigration
PedWest walking into Mexico Crossing into Tijuana Mexico By Foot Using PedWest 2019 - YouTube

389

@Siemens_Malvern Nothing much, I just showed my h1b visa on the passport, officer asked the reason for travelling, I said i94 extension. She gave me immigration form and pen, I just filled that one and gave it to her, that’s all.

390

@Siemens_Malvern I don’t remember that day anyone crossing border on that west entry, be ready to go east side as well.

391

@kumar_pentakota San Ysidro CBP office - 619-662-2229

392

Hi Siemens, i will join you, i am also going tomorrow for my wife’s I-94 Extention

393

@Neeraj_Jain we are driving from Bayarea and will do it probably in the evening.

394

Ok, I will be reaching there by 11 let’s see if we can meet

395

@Neeraj_Jain @nirmaldreamz thanks for your inputs.

This morning (Sunday 10/25/2020) at 6AM I crossed PedEast border, took U-turn and got I-94 updated. It was very quick and completed the whole process in 30 minutes. No crowd at all.

I am on H-1B and I got limited admission on I-94 at SFO due to passport expiry.
I followed this forum and throughly studied Google Maps and watched these videos to get clarity
Crossing border @PedEast by walk into Tijuana Mexico Walking into Tijuana Mexico using the San Ysidro Crossing 2019 - YouTube
Walk back to US @PedEast How to Cross into the U.S. from Tijuana Mexico Using The San Ysidro Border Crossing 2019 - YouTube

No visa to enter into Mexico and no forms filled at Mexico Immigration. One officer on Mexico side checked passport and asked why I am coming into Mexico, I said I-94 update.

While entering US, showed passport to guards at border and told I am here for I-94 update. Just walked few steps and entered into Permits office (yellow building). I prepaid I-94 fee I94 - Official Website and explained to officer and showed fee receipt, passports, I-797.

Like others mentioned, here CBP officer seems clueless about I-94, checked with another officer and issued new I-94 valid till my visa stamp validity in passport which is expiring in few weeks from today.
I told him that my attorney said CBP would issue I-94 till I-797 expiry and then he called one more officer to check on it and corrected with one more new I-94.

Just walked through another building to enter into US.

396

I am traveling to San Diego international airport from Texas this Nov Second week,
Please help me with the below queries :

Purpose: i94 extinction due to passport renewal
I am on h1b and my wife on h4
my current i94 is still valid till Feb2021 and i797 is till Aug2021.

  1. Do we need to carry ID’s along with supporting documents since my wife is on h4 she does not have SSN ( ITIN applied so not available currently )
  2. Is there any chance for entry rejection in to the USA from Mexico after board crossing? since I saw on one website they rejected
  3. Do we need to carry client letters as well? Since I work for inhouse projects

Please confirm 499 Virgina Ave, San Diego CA 92173 is the address this process is going to take place becase i am planning to go by Cab.

any additional information would be appreciated.

Thanks.
T.

397

@kumar_pentakota

  1. your passport is your ID. have DL/utility bill for address proof in US.
  2. anything is possible, but you should be good if you have valid visa in your passports
  3. all they want is I-797, passports, valid visa. any extra docs doesn’t hurt

That address is right for PedWest, I guess that’s currently closed. If you are going to PedEast and driving on your own and want to park your car, paid parking available, may be behind Jack In The Box, just be careful with google maps which may take you into Mexico but if you read signs you are good and you can probably take last exit if you miss something. If you are going in taxi, Mc Donalds address is good 727 E San Ysidro Blvd, San Ysidro, CA 92173.

Again, I advice you to do your homework .ie. read this forum, you will probably find all your questions already answered

398

Thank you @Siemens_Malvern for the detailed information
Just to confirm so this process can be done at both places rite Pedwest or PedEast in case one of the centers is closed.
Basically what would be my backup plans in case any of the office is closed because i have a return flight to catch on the same day at 3.30 pm so.

I will be traveling by taxi from San Diego international airport so if possible please share both the offices address for i94 extinction.

Thanks.
T