I-94 Shorter Than Your I-797 (2026): Admission Cut to Passport Expiry, Out-of-Status Risks and How to Fix It

Why Your I-94 Can Be Shorter Than Your I-797 (Quick Answer)

Your permitted stay is set by the admit-until date on your I-94, not by the I-797 end date or the visa stamp.

The usual cause is the passport. US law (INA 212(a)(7)(B)) makes a nonimmigrant inadmissible unless the passport is valid for at least six months beyond the admission period. India is on CBP's list of countries exempt from that rule, according to a CBP bulletin dated 18 December 2025, so Indian citizens need a passport valid only for the intended stay. The admission can run up to the printed expiry date, but generally not past it.

The Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 403.9-3(B)(2)(c)) tells consular officers to warn these visa holders that admission will not be granted beyond the passport expiry, and that the stay cannot be extended until the passport is renewed. This is consular guidance describing CBP practice, not a CBP rule. The CBP officer at the port decides.

The outer frame is the petition. Under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(1), H-1B, L-1, E and TN workers and their dependents may be admitted for the petition validity plus up to 10 days before and after it. H-4 spouses and children may get the same period as the principal (8 CFR 214.2(h)(9)(iv)), but each person's own passport can still cut their I-94 shorter.

Which Record Counts - the CBP I-94 or the I-94 on Your I-797A

When USCIS approves an extension or change of status inside the US, it issues a Form I-797A, which USCIS calls a "replacement Form I-94". The record at the bottom is an admission record in its own right.

The CBP I-94 website may lag behind. Its help pages say its travel history is not an official legal record and may omit I-94s issued by USCIS. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, one H-1B holder's I-797A I-94 ran to early 2029 while the CBP site still showed an early-2027 date cut to his passport. We recommend keeping the I-797A with your passport.

For later trips, University of Kansas HR guidance says the most recent action, a USCIS approval or a re-entry after travel, sets the current I-94 and status end date. That is common university guidance, not a rule CBP or USCIS spells out.

When a re-entry after an approval gave a shorter date

We found no official answer for this case. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, an H-1B worker showed a newer I-797A at entry in September 2024 but got an I-94 only to September 2025, matching the old visa stamp. According to another applicant report on Reddit in October 2026, a CBP officer in Spokane called the I-797A I-94 sufficient, while the applicant's attorney insisted on an in-person correction. One officer's words are not CBP policy.

An I-94 issued on the wrong petition is an entry error that CBP deferred inspection can review. A prompt correction and a talk with an immigration attorney make sense. There is no official basis for assuming the I-797A automatically overrides a later CBP record.

How to Check Your I-94 Online After Every Entry

As of October 2026, CBP says travellers can pull their record on i94.cbp.dhs.gov with "Get Most Recent I-94", or through the same option in CBP's mobile app, now called CBP Link. A quick check after each entry covers:

• the details of the passport used to enter, not a newer one
• the class of admission
• the admit-until date against the passport expiry and the I-797 end date

Without the original passport number, for example after renewing inside the US, CBP points to a redress request through the CBP Information Center.

Wrong travel-history entries can be challenged through a CBP Information Center redress or DHS TRIP. CBP asks for one route only, with supporting evidence.

What Happens If You Stay Past the I-94 Date

Out of status and unlawful presence are related but not the same, according to USCIS guidance kept from its retired Adjudicator's Field Manual. A person can be out of status without accruing unlawful presence.

• Out of status: USCIS says this applies if status expired before an extension or change was filed, or if its terms were violated.
• Unlawful presence: USCIS says it typically starts if you stay past the date on your I-94.

The 3- and 10-year bars follow departure, not the overstay itself. Under INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i), leaving after more than 180 days but less than a year of unlawful presence in one stay brings a 3-year bar, and a year or more brings a 10-year bar. Exceptions and tolling exist, so whether a bar applies to someone is a question for an immigration attorney.

The visa suffers sooner. Under INA 222(g), it becomes void once the holder stays past the authorized period, and a new visa generally has to come from the home country, India for Indians. CBP's I-94 FAQ applies this even to overstays of 1 to 180 days.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, one H-1B holder whose I-94 was cut to May 2025 learned only at the green card stage, from his lawyer, that he had been out of status for about 1.5 years. We do not count days or assess bars for readers. That belongs with a licensed immigration attorney.

Fixes - Deferred Inspection, Correction Requests and Extensions

CBP made an error at entry

CBP deferred inspection staff can fix entry errors, including a wrong classification, wrong personal data or an incorrect period of admission, "if appropriate". CBP says any deferred inspection site or CBP office in an international airport should be able to help, wherever the I-94 was issued. Mail-in procedures are generally not available.

CBP's I-94 FAQ asks travellers to contact the nearest deferred inspection office within thirty days of admission, or to use the CBP Ask a Question portal. No official outer limit is published, but acting fast helps.

CBP publishes email contacts for I-94 correction requests at several ports of entry (list last updated 24 September 2026), so we recommend checking the current list on cbp.gov before writing.

If the I-94 correctly matched the old passport, no CBP page says a renewal turns it into an error, so there is no guarantee deferred inspection will lengthen it. USCIS Form I-102 is not for CBP mistakes, which go to a CBP port of entry or deferred inspection office.

The I-94 is still valid

Extensions go through USCIS. Before the I-94 date, the employer typically files an extension petition, and dependents such as H-4 spouses file Form I-539. Under 8 CFR 214.1(a)(3)(i), the passport needs to be valid at filing and kept valid.

The I-94 date has passed

Under 8 CFR 214.1(c)(4), USCIS may excuse a late extension at its discretion only if the delay came from extraordinary circumstances beyond the applicant's control, status was not otherwise violated, the person remains a bona fide nonimmigrant and is not in removal proceedings. Lawyers call this a "nunc pro tunc" request, while USCIS speaks of excusing a late filing.

The Policy Manual says an approved late extension takes effect from the date the prior admission expired. Whether an unnoticed passport truncation counts as an extraordinary circumstance is not addressed, and approval is never guaranteed. If a late request is denied as untimely, USCIS guidance says unlawful presence counts from the I-94 expiry date.

According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, one approved late extension came with an I-94 whose "Valid From" date matched the receipt date, not the day after the old I-94 ended. That is one person's report.

Job loss

H-1B and L-1 workers and their dependents get up to 60 days after a job ends, or until the authorized period ends if sooner, once per validity period, and DHS can shorten it. University of Kansas HR guidance notes it is not available after the petition expiration date, so an early call to an attorney makes sense.

Does a Trip Abroad Fix It? Canada and Mexico Trips

Not automatically. CBP's I-94 FAQ says trips of less than 30 days by land or ferry to Canada, Mexico or adjacent islands create no new I-94 and do not extend the admit-until date. It covers land and ferry only, and we found no official text on air returns.

Automatic visa revalidation (AVR) allows a return within 30 days without a new I-94, but under 22 CFR 41.112(d)(2) only with an unexpired I-94, maintained status, a valid passport and no new visa application abroad. With an expired I-94, AVR is off the table. The CBP officer decides, AVR gives no right to enter Canada or Mexico, and Indians need a Canadian visitor visa for Canada.

Leaving with an expired I-94 can trigger the 3- or 10-year bar, and the overstay voids the visa, so a new stamp from India would generally be needed. The decision to travel belongs with an immigration attorney.

For a planned trip, Visarun can help check which visas it needs, such as a Canadian visitor visa or a US visa appointment in India, and help prepare the applications. Visarun does not fix I-94 records or status, and decisions belong to the authorities.

Renewing Your Passport in Time

Renewing before travel and before any extension filing removes the most common cause of a cut I-94. We found no USCIS statement on whether the I-94 on an extension approval is capped at passport expiry, so the end date it grants on an old passport is hard to predict.

• Indian consulates accept re-issue up to one year before expiry, or within three years after it, without fresh police verification, if details are unchanged and the last police report was clear (CGI San Francisco FAQ).
• According to the Embassy of India in Washington DC, as of October 2026, normal re-issue takes 3 to 4 weeks and Tatkaal 3 working days, excluding shipping. Other consulates quote longer times.

A renewal inside the US does not change your current I-94, and retrieval still uses the old passport number. According to applicant reports on Reddit in October 2026, an F-1 student on OPT found the I-94 still tied to the old passport after renewing. Under 9 FAM 403.9-3(B)(4), a visa in the old passport stays valid if both passports show the same nationality, so we recommend carrying both.

Recent Changes (2025-2026)

• 30 September 2025: a land-border I-94 costs $30, the $6 fee plus $24 added by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1).
• 18 December 2025: CBP's six-month passport validity bulletin lists India as exempt.
• July 2026: CBP's I-94 page, updated that month, names the mobile app CBP Link. Older CBP material still says CBP One.
• 13 August 2026: in Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, the BIA overruled Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, so leaving on advance parole now counts as a departure for the 3- and 10-year bars. Green card applicants with past unlawful presence have reason to see an attorney before travelling.
• 14 September 2026: a federal court in Massachusetts postponed DHS's rule replacing "duration of status" with fixed periods for F, J and I holders. As of the USCIS page dated 7 October 2026, the old rules apply. This can change.
• 7 October 2026: USCIS changed the I-102 filing addresses, accepting forms sent to old addresses if postmarked by 9 November 2026.

FAQ

Why did CBP give me an I-94 shorter than my I-797?

Usually because of the passport. CBP generally does not admit nonimmigrants beyond the printed passport expiry, and India's six-month exemption only lets the admission reach that date.

Which date controls my stay, the I-797 or the I-94?

The admit-until date on the I-94. The I-797 shows the petition validity, the outer frame. After a USCIS extension, the I-94 on the I-797A is a replacement I-94.

The CBP site still shows my old date after an extension. Is that a problem?

CBP says its site may not reflect USCIS extensions. We recommend keeping the I-797A with your passport. If a later entry gave a shorter date, an immigration attorney can advise on a correction.

Can deferred inspection lengthen an I-94 cut to my passport expiry?

It corrects entry errors "if appropriate". If the cut matched the old passport, no CBP page treats that as an error, so there is no guarantee.

Is there a deadline for deferred inspection?

CBP asks travellers to come within thirty days of admission. No official outer limit is published, so acting quickly makes sense.

Am I out of status the day after my I-94 expires?

USCIS says unlawful presence typically starts after the I-94 date. What follows depends on the facts, which an immigration attorney can assess.

Will a quick trip to Canada or Mexico reset my I-94?

Not automatically. Land or ferry trips under 30 days create no new I-94, AVR needs an unexpired I-94, and an overstay voids the visa.

Can USCIS approve a late extension?

Only at its discretion, for extraordinary circumstances beyond the applicant's control. If approved, it runs from the old expiry date. Nothing is guaranteed.