California Driver's License Linked to Visa Expiry (uscis, application, H1B)
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This is more of a venting post but any idea's on how to solve my situation is appreciated:
I am on an H1B and is expiring in a few weeks. My California driver's license expiry is linked to my H1B expiry date.
I initiated my H1B renewal back 4.5 months ago and my H1B Renewal (I129) is still not processed. In two weeks my license will expire and the DMV will under no circumstance extend the validity of my license without a valid I-94 stamped with my visa that is valid for at least 6 months.
This is exteremely frustrating and now USCIS is saying the processing time went from 2 months to 5 months this week! They are processing applications from 6 months ago right now.
What the heck is wrong with the USCIS system that it takes more than 6 months to process an H1B renewal? Now in 2 weeks I will not be able to legally drive my kids to school, go run routine errands (like getting groceries and taking kids to play groups and their karate classes) ... let alone getting to work.
Transit is not an option as the closest station is 5 miles from me. Getting to work may not be a huge issue and I can car pool with fellow workers, but under no circumstance can I bother others to be a personal driver for my family for how ever long it takes to renew my visa.
My company also will not pay for the premium processing ($1300!) and to tell you the truth, with the pay I get from work, that will pretty much eat up more than half of my paycheck ... meaning I cannot afford to pay it under my current situation.
I'm trying to make a decent earning and live a decent life and work hard at work ... but at this point it almost seems useless to even try anymore because the government is dragging their feet for renewals. The DMV is not being leanient and my work doesn't seem to care about the hardship this will create for me and my family.
Gosh - sorry to hear of your situation. I work at a University and we have a dept that processes (submits) our visa work for us (though we submit all the prep work). We have a few H1Bs in our dept and as a result, and in the last few months, I have heard (from our visa processing unit) that the processing time is getting longer and LONGER lately. If we decide to do premium processing (per advice), however, the dept pays for it. Your situation seems very close - if you submitted 4.5 months ago and they are working on 5 months out now.... it could just be very close, or within a matter of days of the expiration date. Hard to know what to do in this timing situation. Maybe check again in a week and decide from there. Maybe you miss a few days or a week of work (can they retro pay you? maybe not....).... Gosh, wish you the best!
Ya, work is the least of my issues. My direct managers are allowing me to work from home if it comes to that, plus I have colleagues at work that live around me. My issue is with the kids and weekly groceries and things like that. I don't want to have to ask for help and taking taxi's will be $$$.
Well, in case anyone else is in the same boat as me, I just read the following which looks like it the government gives you 240 days after the expiry of your I-94 to get your renewal approved. Hopefully the DMV will accept that and extend my license:
8 C.F.R. § 274a.12(b)(20)
(20) A nonimmigrant alien within the class of aliens described in paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(5), (b)(8), (b)(9), (b)(10), (b)(11), (b)(12), (b)(13), (b)(14), (b)(16), and (b)(19) of this section whose status has expired but who has filed a timely application for an extension of such stay pursuant to §§214.2 or 214.6 of this chapter. These aliens are authorized to continue employment with the same employer for a period not to exceed 240 days beginning on the date of the expiration of the authorized period of stay. Such authorization shall be subject to any conditions and limitations noted on the initial authorization. However, if the district director or service center director adjudicates the application prior to the expiration of this 240 day period and denies the application for extension of stay, the employment authorization under this paragraph shall automatically terminate upon notification of the denial decision.
Ya, work is the least of my issues. My direct managers are allowing me to work from home if it comes to that, plus I have colleagues at work that live around me. My issue is with the kids and weekly groceries and things like that. I don't want to have to ask for help and taking taxi's will be $$$.
Well, in case anyone else is in the same boat as me, I just read the following which looks like it the government gives you 240 days after the expiry of your I-94 to get your renewal approved. Hopefully the DMV will accept that and extend my license:
8 C.F.R. § 274a.12(b)(20)
(20) A nonimmigrant alien within the class of aliens described in paragraphs (b)(2), (b)(5), (b)(8), (b)(9), (b)(10), (b)(11), (b)(12), (b)(13), (b)(14), (b)(16), and (b)(19) of this section whose status has expired but who has filed a timely application for an extension of such stay pursuant to §§214.2 or 214.6 of this chapter. These aliens are authorized to continue employment with the same employer for a period not to exceed 240 days beginning on the date of the expiration of the authorized period of stay. Such authorization shall be subject to any conditions and limitations noted on the initial authorization. However, if the district director or service center director adjudicates the application prior to the expiration of this 240 day period and denies the application for extension of stay, the employment authorization under this paragraph shall automatically terminate upon notification of the denial decision.
Worth a try ... back to the DMV I go ...
hi - i am currently going through the same situation as you... however i have a choice to get premium processing or not. but i have to pay for it myself.. ugh..
did dmv end up giving you the extension?
have you received an approval yet?
the processing times on the website uscis seems to be averaging 3.6 months right now........
decisions, decisions.
Yes, BMV's in many states have suddenly taken it upon themselves to become ad-hoc immigration enforcement agencies for which they are not qualified. You may thank the ever-helpful Department of Homeland Security for making everyone's life so much easier with this little gem. Thanks so much for protecting us from the \i{dangerous aliens}, DHS. Who knows what havoc they might wreak with a valid driver's license!?
I did get my approval after 5 months (the USCIS website is never accurate with their processing times). They sent the approval letter to my lawyers ... they then sent my I-797 to my lawyers a few days after that. It took another two days for the lawyers to send me the original I-797 through Fed-Ex.
Finally I am legally able to drive again as of end of December. My Christmas bring was a total washout staying at home. At least we got out for New Years eve.
Oh ya, DMV will only accept original documents. When my lawyers received the I-797, they scanned it and emailed it to me to try to see if DMV would accept it ... they didn't. The DMV would not even entertain giving me a 5 or 10 day temporary license until I got the originals to them.
What the heck is wrong with the USCIS system that it takes more than 6 months to process an H1B renewal? Now in 2 weeks I will not be able to legally drive my kids to school, go run routine errands (like getting groceries and taking kids to play groups and their karate classes) ... let alone getting to work.
Make do. Honestly to me your attitude smacks of "entitlement" .... You want to live in this country, I assume you are earning better wages here and you have a better lifestyle here than in your own country. So if you have to put up with some inconveniences, then put up with them. It's not going to kill you to take public transportation for a few months. Your kids aren't going to die because they have to take the school bus.
Quote:
I'm trying to make a decent earning and live a decent life and work hard at work ... but at this point it almost seems useless to even try anymore because the government is dragging their feet for renewals. The DMV is not being leanient and my work doesn't seem to care about the hardship this will create for me and my family.
Then maybe return to your country and live a better life there?
So if you have to put up with some inconveniences, then put up with them.
Prfft! Nice speech, but we see illegal aliens with more rights than legal immigrants, with nice state IDs, drivers licenses and even work permits. Of course this person is upset! Not being able to drive for months? Can you even imagine being restricted like this? Legal immigrants are treated worse than those who break the law. And telling "go back to your country" to workers that left everything behind to come here is just plain insensitive. I guess you are 100% Native American since you feel so comfortable telling people to go back to their countries. Even the pilgrams were once immigrants, jeesh!
Make do. Honestly to me your attitude smacks of "entitlement" .... You want to live in this country, I assume you are earning better wages here and you have a better lifestyle here than in your own country. So if you have to put up with some inconveniences, then put up with them. It's not going to kill you to take public transportation for a few months. Your kids aren't going to die because they have to take the school bus.
Then maybe return to your country and live a better life there?
Absolutely correct! Only Americans are allowed to complain!!
This is what I wondered about when they introduced this rule. Imagine all the people on 12 month visas with six month processing times. I know you are deemed auto-renewed after a certain number of months, but the DMV wouldn't accept that.
Does your insurance cover you if you drive on your foreign licence?
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