Your visa stamp gets you into the United States. Your I-94 decides how long you can stay. They are different documents, with different dates, controlled by different agencies — and tracking the wrong one is how overstays happen.
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If you track the wrong one, the consequence can be a 3-year reentry ban.
The sticker inside your passport. Says when you can enter the U.S. Issued by the State Department. Says nothing about how long you can stay once inside.
The electronic record at i94.cbp.dhs.gov. Says how long you can lawfully remain in the U.S. Issued by CBP at each entry. This is usually the date that matters.
On H-1B, L-1, and similar visas. Petition Expiration Date matches your I-797 approval notice. Marks when the underlying employment authorization ends.
The visa stamp is a State Department document. It is glued inside your passport when you apply at a U.S. consulate abroad. It does two things: it authorizes you to travel to a U.S. port of entry, and it tells the CBP officer at that port what category you are seeking admission in.
It does not authorize you to stay any specific length of time. A 10-year B1/B2 visa does not give you 10 years of authorized presence. It gives you 10 years of authorized attempts to enter. Each entry generates a separate I-94, and each I-94 has its own admit-until date — usually 6 months for B1/B2, but the officer can issue less.
Once you are admitted, the visa has done its job. It can expire while you are inside the U.S. and you remain lawfully present, as long as your I-94 has not yet expired.
The I-94 is a CBP record. It is electronic for most travelers entering by air or sea, and you can retrieve it at i94.cbp.dhs.gov. It is the document that decides your authorized period of stay. The "Admit Until Date" on your most recent I-94 is the hard deadline.
Each entry creates a new I-94. If you leave and come back, the new I-94 replaces the old one. If your H-1B is extended while you are in the U.S., the new I-94 stub on the I-797 replaces the old one. Always work from the most recent I-94, not the one you remember.
What you'll see on an I-94
Petition-based visas like H-1B, L-1, O-1, and P show a third date: the Petition Expiration Date, or PED. It is printed on the visa stamping page itself, usually in the lower right. The PED reflects the expiration date on your I-797 approval notice and represents the outer edge of the petition that supports your visa.
When the PED arrives, your employer must file an extension (a new I-129 petition) to keep you in valid status. Your I-94 admit-until date is typically aligned with the PED, but not always — a CBP officer can issue an I-94 with a shorter date. When in doubt, the I-94 wins.
For most H-1B and L-1 holders, the practical answer is: set a reminder for the I-94 admit-until date, since it governs your stay. Set a second one for the PED if your employer hasn't already calendared the extension filing.
What each date does and doesn't control.
For most travelers, the I-94 admit-until date is what governs your stay, so it is the date worth setting a reminder for. Track that one 90 days out and you have time to renew, extend, or depart without falling out of status.
F-1 and J-1 students on D/S admissions should track the program end date on the I-20 or DS-2019 instead. H-1B and L-1 holders should usually track both the I-94 admit-until and the PED, since one drives status and the other drives the petition filing timeline.
Set it on the visa expiration reminder page. For a refresher on how to read each document, see the guide to checking your visa expiration date.
The visa stamp inside your passport controls when you can enter the United States. The I-94 admission record controls how long you can stay once admitted. The visa is for entry. The I-94 is for stay. The two dates are unrelated and frequently different.
Yes. You are still lawfully present in the United States until the I-94 admit-until date passes, even if your visa stamp has expired. You cannot leave and re-enter on an expired stamp — you would need to renew the visa abroad first. Many long-term H-1B and F-1 holders carry expired stamps for years.
Yes, in most cases. The "Admit Until Date" on your I-94 is when your authorized stay ends. For F-1 students, J-1 exchange visitors, and certain other categories, the I-94 may show "D/S" (duration of status) instead — meaning your stay tracks your program end date instead of a fixed date.
The PED is printed on the visa stamping page (often in the bottom right) for H-1B, L-1, and other petition-based visas. It corresponds to the expiration date on your I-797 approval notice. It is the date by which the petition that supports your visa expires — distinct from the visa stamp date and the I-94 date.
If you extended your H-1B but the most recent I-94 still shows the old date, the controlling document is the most recent I-94, not your I-797. Re-entry after an H-1B extension generates a new I-94 with the updated date. If you have not traveled since approval, the new I-797 should include an I-94 stub at the bottom — that becomes your current admission record.
For most visa holders, set the reminder for the I-94 admit-until date — this is the date that controls how long you can stay. For F-1 and J-1 holders on D/S, use the program end date on your I-20 or DS-2019. The visa stamp date matters only if you plan to leave and re-enter the U.S.
The I-94 admit-until date is the one most travelers need to watch. Set a reminder 90 days before — free, no account, takes 30 seconds.
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