Electronic Form I-94–Automation Started by CBP

 

Due to the Automation Process started by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from 30th of April, 2013, USCIS has begun updating certain forms requesting applicants and petitioners to enter the admission number from their Form I-94 and/or their:

• Passport information, including passport number, country of issuance and expiration date; and
• Travel Document information, including Travel Document number, country of issuance and expiration date.

[Source – USCIS]

So, prior to this automation, the Form I-94 which was given to you by the airline staff to fill up and submit it to CBP at the port of entry, is not needed anymore.

You can pull your electronic Form I-94 in paper format from CBP’s website (www.cbp.gov/I94).

In USA on H-1B–International Driving Permit, Foreign Driver License, Interim Permit and Learner Permit

 

If you have your International Driving Permit - IDP along with your Foreign Country’s Driver License, you can drive up to 6 months or so, depending upon which state you are in. But you ultimately going to need a USA Driver License.

To start with, you will have to apply for a Learner’s Permit, which requires you to appear for a written test at your nearest DMV office. Depending upon which state you are in, you can download the State-Specific Driver’s Manual from State’s DMV Website. For example, for New York State, you can get the Driver Manual from New York’s DMV Website. Besides that you can also get a printed copy, free of charge, of the same Driver’s Manual from a nearby local DMV Office.

You need to have at least 6 points of proof of identity. For any new arrival, following can be used to accumulate 6 points:

1. Foreign Passport with I-94 – Primary ID – 4 points
2. Social Security Card – Secondary ID – 1 point
3. ATM or Debit Card – Secondary ID – 1 point

Click here for an Online 6 Point Document Selector for the state of New Jersey.

Fees (Source: NY DMV):

Once you successfully passed the Test, you will be given an Interim Permit immediately, which looks like:

Within two weeks you will receive the original Learner Permit in your mail box, which looks like:

In USA on H-1B–First Thing First–Start Building Your Credit History or Credit Score

 

You need to open a Checking Account in a Bank. For those of you who are coming from Pakistan, what you call Current Account in Pakistan is called Checking Account in USA. To open a Checking Account you need your Original Passport and I-94. You will receive a Photo Debit Card, which you can use in ATMs, POS machines, Online Purchasing etc.

! Interest Alert ! Banks also have Saving Accounts which works on interest.

Similarly, you’ll have to apply for a Secure Credit Card. The only difference between a Secure Credit Card and a regular Credit Card is that you pay for your Credit Line in advance to safe the Bank from risk of defaulted payments. While in case regular Credit Card, Bank offers you a certain amount of Credit Line depending upon your Credit History or Credit Score. But, because you are new to USA and you don’t have any Credit History or Credit Score yet, so you have an option to “buy” your Credit Line for your “Secure” Credit Card. If you pay $2000, your Credit Line will be $2000, so on and so forth. Other than that, there’s no difference in a Secure and a regular Credit Card, both works exactly the same.

If you are short on money, than a minimum recommended Credit Line for a Secure Credit Card is $2000. Although, you can go for less than that too.

! Interest Alert ! In order to build your Credit History or Credit Score, you will have to do your purchases via Credit Card. So it is recommended to always synchronize your purchases with the amount you have in your Debit Card or Checking Account. Always, clear your Credit at the end of every month. Finally, if you are going through tough times and are short on money, stop using Credit Cards altogether, or you will be lost in the maze of interest with no outlet.

So what Credit Reporting/History/Score is?

Credit reporting is a system lenders use to decide whether or not to give you credit or a loan and how much interest they can charge you for it. Your credit report is based on the bills payments you have missed or been late paying, loans that you have paid off, plus your current amount of debt. A credit report contains information on where you work and live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) gather this information and sell it to creditors, employers, insurers, and others.

Based on the information in your credit report, lenders calculate your credit score so they can assess the risk you pose to them before they decide whether they will give you credit. The higher your score, the less risk you pose to creditors. Your score can range anywhere from 300-850.. Aiming for a score in the 700s will put you in good standing. A high score, for example, makes it easier for you to obtain a loan, rent an apartment, or lower your insurance rate.[Source – USA.GOV]

How to improve your Credit Score?

Make sure you get your apartment, car, utilities, telephone and services in your name and make sure you pay all your bills and rent on time.

In USA on H-1B–First Thing First–Your Social Security

 

The first thing you should do is to get enroll for Social Security.

You need a Social Security number to get a job, collect Social Security benefits and receive some other government services. But you don't often need to show your Social Security card. Do not carry your card with you. Keep it in a safe place with your other important papers. [Source – SSA]

You only need I-94 and your original Passport, which will be a proof of your Age and your Identity, which is required to file an application for Social Security Number/Card.

You can locate the SSA offices or affiliates that are closest to you from - https://secure.ssa.gov/ICON/main.jsp

When you reach the relevant SSA office, you will have to fill an application form called, Form SS-5, see snapshot below:

Officials will ask some questions mostly related to your Age and/or Identity i.e. your Passport. If every thing is ok, then they will inform you about the time when you can expect the Social Security Card in your Mail.

A Social Security Card looks like:

Valid for work only with DHS Authorization.

Entering United States on an H-1B Visa–Form I-94

 

UPDATE – Manual printed I-94 process (mentioned in this old post) has been replaced with Electronic Automated I-94, click to read more.

Just before your flight to United States is about to land, you will be presented a form, by the airline staff, as shown below:

This form is called Form I-94 and it is basically an Arrival-Departure Record of a foreigner, kept and maintained by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and used by USCIS.

You must fill out Form I-94 and present the completed form to customs officer at your respective port of entry (airport) to the United States. The customs officer will stamp the form and keep the Arrival Record portion and returned you the stamped Departure Record portion of Form I-94 (The area highlighted in blue box in above picture).

You must submit the stamped Departure Record portion of Form I-94 when leaving the United States so that your departure can be recorded properly. If you failed to submit the Departure Record portion at the time of departure, it will create a lot of difficulties for you, if you try to re-enter to United States at some point in time in future.

USCIS will send Approval Notice I-797B to Sponsor

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Once H-1B petition I-129 was approved by USCIS, an Approval Notice I-797B will be sent to the employer. Notice that I-797 has different variants, however only the ones that are highlighted below are relevant in our case.

USCIS uses numerous types of Form I-797 to communicate with customers or convey an immigration benefit. Form I-797 is NOT a form you can fill out. The chart below gives a brief description of each:

I-797, Notice of Action - Issued when an application or petition is approved.

I-797A, Notice of Action - Issued to an applicant as a replacement Form I-94.

I-797B, Notice of Action - Issued for approval of an alien worker petition.

I-797C, Notice of Action - Issued to communicate receipt of payments, rejection of applications, transfer of files, fingerprint biometric, interview and re-scheduled appointments, and re-open cases.

I-797D - Accompanies benefit cards.

I-797E, Notice of Action - Issued to request evidence.

I-797F, Transportation Letter - Issued overseas to allow applicants to travel.

Source: USCIS

List of Document required by H-1B Work Visa Sponsor

 

This post is a part of series of posts that makes up “The Complete Process Trail for H-1B Work Visa”.

Once you have accepted the Offer Letter from H-1B Work Visa Sponsor. You will be required to submit following information and scanned copies of documents for the processing:

Information Required

1. First Name
2. Middle Name
3. Last Name
4. Any other Names used
   
5. Email Address
6. Contact Number(s)
7. Date of Birth
8. Country of Birth
9. Province of Birth
10. Country of Citizenship
    
11. Passport #
12. Date Issued
13. Date of Expiry (MUST BE VALID FOR A MIN. OF 6 MONTHS TO 1 YEAR)
14. Consulate/Embassy (City) in your Country
15. Country
    
16. Ever been on H-1B visa before?
1. If yes then provide all dates of previous stay in From Date / To Date format
17. Social Security Number / SSN (if any)
    
18. Highest Level of Education Completed
19. Total Years of Experience in IT industry
    
20. Additional info for those who are already in USA
1. Date of Last Arrival
2. I-94#
3. Port of Entry
4. Current US Address
5. Current Status
6. Previous Receipt / Case Number

List of Documents

1. Scanned Color Copies of:
1. Passport (Biographic Pages)
2. Resume
3. All Diplomas / Certificates
4. Degrees and Transcripts (with Translation into English, if required)
5. Previous Work Experience / Job Reference Letters
6. Additional documents for those who are already in USA
1. Scanned Color Copies of:
1. I-94 with visible stamped date of entry
2. Previous Approval Notice(s)
3. Recent Pay Stubs

IMPORTANT – Please make sure you have Machine Readable Passport which must be valid for a min of one year.