Make Sure Your International Employee is Prepared for Foreign Travel and Checks Their I-94 Early and

The most sneaky and common issue affecting international employee immigration status is when the workers travel abroad. Here are two very basic ways to prevent an issue:

1. Make sure your international employees inform you (the employer) and someone informs your immigration attorney if foreign travel is planned.

2. After your employee travels, they should immediately check their I-94 to ensure they were admitted in the correct status and for the amount of time expected.

Why does this matter?

If the employee has left the U.S. without the appropriate documents to return OR does not know they need a visa in their passport to return, the ramifications could be disastrous. They could be denied admission and left outside the U.S. where we have to send them to the U.S. consulate to apply for a visa. Alternatively, the employee may be allowed entry after foreign travel, but admitted into the wrong status or for a shortened length of time.

For example:

An H-1B worker without an H-1B visa in their passport leaves the U.S. to take vacation in Mexico. They return to the border with their passport and some older F-1 Student visas, but one of them has not yet expired. The border patrol officer may simply admit them into the status that is still showing valid in the passport, even though your employee is no longer in F-1 status. This issue, if not found immediately, can have long-term immigration effects on your employees, potentially barring them from gaining permanent residency (green card).

Danielle Atchison

Business Immigration Attorney MDIVANI CORPORATE IMMIGRATION LAW FIRM

uslegalimmigration.com/our-lawyers/danielle-atchison/

NOT LEGAL ADVICE: This article is for educational purposes only, it is not legal advice that may be applicable to our situation

The information provided here does not constitute legal advice. It is general information regarding law and policy that may be applicable to your particular HR issue or legal problem. Information provided in this blog, or any of our other public posts, does not create an attorney-client relationship. For specific advice you can rely upon, please contact your attorney.