Your H-1B Knowledge Base

Your passport is the foundation of every other immigration document. Without it, you cannot travel internationally, re-enter the United States, or apply for most immigration benefits. Many countries - including the US - require your passport to be valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay. This means a passport expiring in four months can strand you internationally even if it technically hasn't expired yet.

Your I-94 is the single most legally important date on your entire immigration record. It's not your visa stamp. It's not your I-797 approval. Your I-94 end date is the date you are legally authorized to remain in the United States. If you overstay your I-94 - even by one day - you begin accruing unlawful presence, which can trigger bars to re-entry of 3 or 10 years. The I-94 is generated automatically when you enter the US and is accessible at cbp.dhs.gov.

The I-797 is your H-1B petition approval, issued by USCIS to your employer. It contains your petition validity dates, your job classification, and your authorized employer. Your I-797 approval period defines how long your H-1B petition is valid, which in turn drives your I-94 end date. Extensions, employer transfers (portability), and amendments all generate new I-797 notices - each one superseding the last.

Contrary to common confusion, your visa stamp does not control how long you can stay in the US. It controls whether you can enter or re-enter. An expired visa stamp means you cannot board a flight to the US after international travel - but if you never leave the country, an expired stamp is largely irrelevant to your day-to-day status. Visas are issued by the State Department at US consulates abroad, entirely separately from your USCIS-approved petition.

If your spouse has H-4 EAD (Employment Authorization Document), it expires independently of your H-1B. If their EAD lapses, they must stop working - immediately, with no grace period. USCIS processing times for EAD renewal currently average 3–6 months, meaning the application should be filed well in advance. There are automatic extension provisions in some cases (if filed timely), but these rules have changed in recent years and need to be verified.

An up-to-date employment letter from your employer - confirming your title, salary, employment dates, and work location - is not an immigration document per se, but it's required in almost every practical context: H-1B renewals, green card applications, apartment rentals, mortgage applications, and bank account openings. Many H-1B holders are caught off guard when they need one urgently and HR takes weeks to produce it.

While not an immigration document, your Social Security card is tied to your work authorization and is required for employment onboarding, tax filing, and many government processes. Losing it can cause friction during job transitions or when completing Form I-9 for a new employer.