Didn't get multiple entry stamp

[transitorykris]

Hi- I crossed on the 21st with a new I797A, got the H1B stamp and I94 card (white card, the I797A didn't have an I94 attached). After getting through I realized the I94 was not stamped multiple entry (I'm a Canadian Citizen). Any issues with going back through next time? As far as I know the I797A remains valid for the entire duration.

Thanks!

[agnelson]

The multiple entry is implicit.

The I-797 does not have any validity, it is merely information. An I-94 is what records your entry, and the dursation.

[Steven]

Yeah, sometimes they stamp it, sometimes they don't, but the regs make it clear they just re-issue it if you lose it after you leave or surrender it if you leave. Not a huge deal. Just a bureaucratic moment with CBP.

[agnelson]

Side Q: Do most POEs now issue a "printed" I-94 instead of the one you fill by pen yourself?

[Steven]

Not that I'm aware of, but things are fairly rustic at POEs out west. The thing that gets me at Sweetgrass is that you have to go into secondary inspection to use your NEXUS card. The whole place is literally plastered with posters saying "Get a NEXUS card and improve your border crossing experience!"

Yes, by getting sent to secondary inspection and waiting for the NEXUS guy to fire up the system so you can use your card.

Brilliant.

[tagalong]

Question... I am now in H1B status living & working in Washington state - I have an I-797A and the attached I-94 as well as my new Canadian passport. The immigration lawyer insisted that I needed to go for an interview at the US consulate in Vancouver... their website said no - and I have told him that it appears I just go up to the border crossing at Blaine *shudder* as I would for a TN renewal. Do they grill you again and need all the documentation? Or is it just a stamp to verify the approval? You can just cross the border, do a U-Turn and come back?

[agnelson]

Lawyers are usually ignorant on immigration matters for Cdns. Of course you don't go to consulate, you don't need a visa stamp.

You are in H1 status from Oct 01. Period. You don't need to lave US at all. If you do leave, you will simply take your ppaerwork with you and you will be(probably) given a new I-94. But this is up to the officer, he could just leve your I-9 that you have now. The POE has no jurisdiction to deny your H1 other than for being a criminal or for losing your job, so don't worry.

But,above all, you do not need to do anything. You are in H1, with a valid I-94.

[tagalong]

So all I will need is my passport, I-797A and the I-94 that came with it? None of the other documentation that I sent in for the H1B? Thanks for the help... after many bad TN experiences I have permanent border anxiety...